Self-driving vehicle systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A vehicle management system can include self-driving vehicles. Before entering a self-driving vehicle, a rider can use a remote computing device to select a pick-up location at which a self-driving vehicle will later pick up the rider. Detecting that the remote computing device is unable to communicate with the vehicle management system can trigger several responses configured to minimize the risk of a self-driving vehicle failing to pick up the rider.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/205,013; filedNov. 29, 2018; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/166,057; filedOct. 19, 2018; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/128,334; filedSep. 11, 2018; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TOA LOW BATTERY.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/049,275; filedJul. 30, 2018; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/863,903; filedJan. 8, 2018; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/589,619; filed May8, 2017; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/181,413; filedJun. 14, 2016; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/099,565; filedApr. 14, 2016; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

BACKGROUND Field

Various embodiments disclosed herein relate to vehicles. Certainembodiments relate to self-driving motorized vehicles.

Description of Related Art

Vehicles typically require a driver. These vehicles often can onlyperform actions when directly instructed by the driver. However,self-driving vehicles are not reliant upon drivers and can performactions based upon external events. As such, self-driving vehicles cansave time and dramatically increase convenience in roadway travel. As aresult, there is a need for systems and methods that enable self-drivingvehicles to perform actions based upon external events.

SUMMARY

Self-driving vehicles will save tens of thousands of lives per year. Themajority of vehicle-related deaths are caused by driver error. Testshave shown that self-driving vehicles nearly eliminate self-inflictedaccidents (although they are not immune to accidents caused by humandrivers of other vehicles). Self-driving vehicles have unlimitedattention spans and can process complex sensor data nearlyinstantaneously. The ability of self-driving vehicles to save lives isso impressive that society has a moral imperative to developself-driving technology such that it can be widely adopted.

Self-driving vehicles also have the ability to dramatically save timeand improve convenience in roadway travel. Specifically, self-drivingvehicles have unlimited potential to learn and predict human behaviorand perform actions accordingly. Many embodiments described hereinenable a self-driving vehicle to monitor human activity and predict whenand where the human will be located and whether the human needs a ridefrom the self-driving vehicle. Self-driving vehicles will be able toperform such tasks with incredible efficacy and accuracy that will allowself-driving vehicles to proliferate at a much faster rate than wouldotherwise be the case.

Some embodiments comprise using a vehicle management system to operate aself-driving vehicle, wherein the vehicle management system isconfigured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computing deviceconfigured to operate software adapted to enable a user to controlbehaviors of the self-driving vehicle. Methods may include couplingcommunicatively, by the vehicle management system, the remote computingdevice to the self-driving vehicle, and then determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system; identifying,by the vehicle management system, a pick-up location of the user; andsending, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicle tothe pick-up location in response to determining that the remotecomputing device is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system.

Embodiments may also comprise sending, by the vehicle management system,the self-driving vehicle to the pick-up location in response to anestimated pick-up time. Additionally, methods may include determining,by the vehicle management system, that the remote computing device is nolonger communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system bysending a wireless communication to the remote computing device and thendetermining that the remote computing device did not respond to thewireless communication.

In some embodiments, methods comprise determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system by determiningthat a battery of the remote computing device is depleted below apredetermined threshold. Even still, embodiments may includedetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem in response to determining that the vehicle management system hasnot received a first wireless communication from the remote computingdevice for a predetermined amount of time. In some embodiments, thepredetermined amount of time is greater than thirty seconds and lessthan thirty minutes.

According to some embodiments, after sending the self-driving vehicle tothe pick-up location, methods include instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the self-driving vehicle to find a parking locationin response to determining, by the vehicle management system, thatcommunicative coupling between the vehicle management system and theremote computing device has been restored. As well, in some embodiments,methods include sending a second wireless communication from the vehiclemanagement system to the remote computing device in response todetermining that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system. The secondwireless communication may be configured to elicit a reply wirelesscommunication from the remote computing device to the vehicle managementsystem when the remote computing device regains cellular communicationabilities.

Some embodiments comprise sending a second wireless communication fromthe vehicle management system to the remote computing device in responseto determining that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system, wherein thesecond wireless communication is configured to elicit a reply wirelesscommunication from the remote computing device to the vehicle managementsystem when the remote computing device regains cellular communicationabilities, and then instructing, by the vehicle management system, theself-driving vehicle to find a parking location in response to receivingthe reply wireless communication. The parking location may be locatedremotely relative to the pick-up location. Additionally, the pick-uplocation may be within fifty yards of a drop-off location where theself-driving vehicle last dropped off the user.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system,the pick-up location from the remote computing device prior todetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem. In some embodiments, methods include determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, the pick-up location by analyzing location data ofthe remote computing device in a period within thirty minutes of whenthe vehicle management system determines that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,a pick-up time based on the location data of the remote computing deviceduring the period. Methods also include sending, by the vehiclemanagement system, the self-driving vehicle to the pick-up location at atime determined, by the vehicle management system, based on analyzingpast amounts of time from past drop-offs to past pick-ups.

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the vehicle management system, theself-driving vehicle to the pick-up location at a time determined, bythe vehicle management system, based on analyzing past amounts of timefrom past drop-offs to past pick-ups at past drop-off locations withinfifty yards of a most recent drop-off location. Methods may even includeanalyzing location data of the remote computing device after a mostrecent drop-off of the user, and then sending, by the vehicle managementsystem, the self-driving vehicle to the pick-up location at a timedetermined, by the vehicle management system, based on analyzing thelocation data.

In some embodiments, after sending the self-driving vehicle to thepick-up location, methods include determining that the user is notlocated at the pick-up location, and instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the self-driving vehicle to move away from thepick-up location and to return to the pick-up location after a firstperiod of time. Methods also include determining that the user is notlocated at the pick-up location after the first period of time, andinstructing, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicleto move away from the pick-up location and to return to the pick-uplocation after a second period of time, and determining that the user isnot located at the pick-up location after the second period of time, andinstructing, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicleto move away from the pick-up location and to return to the pick-uplocation after a third period of time, wherein the third period isgreater than the second period, and the second period is greater thanthe first period.

Some embodiments comprise analyzing, by the vehicle management system, aschedule of the user to estimate at least one of the pick-up locationand a pick-up time. Methods also include determining that the user isnot located at the pick-up location, and instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the self-driving vehicle to move to a predeterminedparking location that is located remotely relative to the pick-uplocation and a most-recent drop-off location.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system,from the remote computing device the predetermined parking locationprior to determining, by the vehicle management system, that the remotecomputing device is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system. The predetermined parking location may be a residenceof the user.

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the vehicle management system, anotification to an emergency contact in response to determining, by thevehicle management system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system. Thenotification may comprise at least one of a most recent drop-offlocation of the user and location information of the self-drivingvehicle.

Some embodiments comprise receiving from the emergency contact, by thevehicle management system, at least one of a pick-up time and thepick-up location for the user in response to sending the notification.Even still, methods include sending the notification in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the user is notlocated at the pick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise using a vehicle management system to operate aself-driving vehicle, wherein the vehicle management system isconfigured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computing deviceconfigured to operate software adapted to enable a user to controlbehaviors of the self-driving vehicle. Methods include couplingcommunicatively, by the vehicle management system, the remote computingdevice to the self-driving vehicle, and then determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system; identifying,by the vehicle management system, a pick-up location of the user; andsending, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicle to afirst location that is within a direct wireless communication range of asmart key from a most-recent drop-off location in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system,an indication that an antenna of the self-driving vehicle detected afirst wireless communication from the smart key, and then sending, bythe vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicle to the pick-uplocation in response to receiving the indication. Methods also includeidentifying, by the vehicle management system, the pick-up location byanalyzing a directionality of the first wireless communication from thesmart key.

Some embodiments comprise using a vehicle management system to operate aself-driving vehicle, wherein the vehicle management system isconfigured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computing deviceconfigured to operate software adapted to enable a user to controlbehaviors of the self-driving vehicle. Methods include couplingcommunicatively, by the vehicle management system, the remote computingdevice to the self-driving vehicle; detecting, by the remote computingdevice, a battery charge indication below a predetermined threshold;notifying, by the remote computing device, the user to select a pick-uptime in response to detecting the battery charge indication below thepredetermined threshold; and sending, by the vehicle management system,the self-driving vehicle to a pick-up location in response to thepick-up time selected by the user.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the remote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled tothe vehicle management system, and then sending, by the vehiclemanagement system, the self-driving vehicle to the pick-up location inresponse to determining, by the vehicle management system, that theremote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system. Additionally, methods include determining, bythe vehicle management system, that the remote computing device is nolonger communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system inresponse to determining that the vehicle management system has notreceived a first wireless communication from the remote computing devicefor a predetermined amount of time.

Some embodiments comprise methods of using a vehicle management systemto operate a self-driving vehicle. The vehicle management system can beconfigured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computing device.The remote computing device can be configured to enable a user tocontrol behaviors of the self-driving vehicle. The remote computingdevice can comprise a battery configured to provide electrical power tothe remote computing device. The battery can comprise one or more cells.

Several embodiments comprise coupling communicatively the remotecomputing device to the vehicle management system; and detecting, by theremote computing device, a first battery charge indication of thebattery. The remote computing device can be configured to detect whenthe first battery charge indication is below a first predeterminedthreshold. The system can take various actions in response to detectingthat the battery life is low (e.g., to reduce the risk of the userneeding to communicate with the self-driving vehicle, but being unableto communicate with the self-driving vehicle).

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device,that the first battery charge indication is below a first predeterminedthreshold; prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to selecta pick-up time in response to determining that the first battery chargeindication is below the first predetermined threshold; and sending, bythe remote computing device, the pick-up time selected by the user tothe vehicle management system. The remote computing device can sendinformation to the vehicle management system through direct wirelesscommunication methods and/or through indirect wireless communicationmethods (e.g., using other communication systems such as cellularcommunication networks, satellite communication networks, radiocommunication networks, and any other communication devices andtechnologies).

Some embodiments comprise prompting, by the remote computing device, theuser to select a pick-up location in response to determining, by theremote computing device, that a second battery charge indication isbelow a second predetermined threshold. Some embodiments comprisesending, by the remote computing device, the pick-up location selectedby the user to the vehicle management system.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device,that a third battery charge indication is below a third predeterminedthreshold. (The third predetermined threshold is less than the firstpredetermined threshold.) Some embodiments comprise reminding, by theremote computing device, the user regarding the pick-up time in responseto determining that the third battery charge indication is below thethird predetermined threshold.

Some embodiments comprise estimating, by at least one of the remotecomputing device and the vehicle management system, that a battery powersupply of the remote computing device will be depleted before thepick-up time, and then in response to the estimating, reminding, by theremote computing device, the user regarding the pick-up time prior todepleting the battery power supply.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device, afirst pick-up time; estimating, by at least one of the remote computingdevice and the vehicle management system, that a battery power supply ofthe remote computing device will be depleted before the first pick-uptime; and then in response to the estimating, prompting, by the remotecomputing device, the user to select a second pick-up time configured tosupersede the first pick-up time. Embodiments can comprise sending, bythe remote computing device, the second pick-up time to the vehiclemanagement system.

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remote computing device, thesecond pick-up time to the vehicle management system such that thesecond pick-up time supersedes the first pick-up time.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device, afirst pick-up time; estimating, by the remote computing device, that abattery power supply of the remote computing device will be depletedbefore the first pick-up time; and then in response to the estimating,prompting, by the remote computing device, the user to select a back-uppick-up location. Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remotecomputing device, the back-up pick-up location to the vehicle managementsystem such that the vehicle management system is configured to send theself-driving vehicle to the back-up pick-up location in response to thevehicle management system being unable to communicate with the remotecomputing device.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device,that the first battery charge indication is below a first predeterminedthreshold; and entering, by the remote computing device, a low batterymode in response to determining that the first battery charge indicationis below the first predetermined threshold and in response todetermining, by the remote computing device, that the vehicle managementsystem is in a pick-up expected mode.

In several embodiments, entering the low battery mode comprisesdisabling a radio-frequency signal transmission system of the remotecomputing device.

In several embodiments, entering the low battery mode comprisesdisabling at least one feature of the remote computing device to reducepower consumption of the remote computing device.

In several embodiments, the vehicle management system is configured tobe in the pick-up expected mode from a first time when the self-drivingvehicle drops off the user until a second time when the self-drivingvehicle picks up the user.

In several embodiments, the vehicle management system is configured tobe in the pick-up expected mode from a first time when the vehiclemanagement system drops off the user (e.g., with a first self-drivingvehicle) until a second time when the vehicle management system picks upthe user (e.g., with the first self-driving vehicle or with a differentself-driving vehicle).

In several embodiments, the pick-up expected mode comprises a mode inwhich at least one of the user is located remotely relative to theself-driving vehicle yet the self-driving vehicle anticipates picking upthe user, the vehicle management system is waiting for an instructionfrom the remote computing device to pick up the user, and a pick-up timeselected by the user is less than twelve hours away.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device, apick-up time; sending, by the remote computing device, the pick-up timeto the vehicle management system; and exiting, by the remote computingdevice, the low battery mode in response to receiving the pick-up time.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device, apick-up location; sending, by the remote computing device, the pick-uplocation to the vehicle management system; and exiting, by the remotecomputing device, the low battery mode in response to receiving thepick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device, atleast one of a pick-up time and a pick-up location; sending, by theremote computing device, at least one of the pick-up time and thepick-up location to the vehicle management system; and exiting, by theremote computing device, the low battery mode in response to sending atleast one of the pick-up time and the pick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise shutting down the remote computing device inresponse to determining, by the remote computing device, that a secondbattery charge indication is below a second predetermined threshold andin response to determining, by the remote computing device, that thevehicle management system is in the pick-up expected mode. The secondpredetermined threshold can be lower than the first predeterminedthreshold.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device,that the first battery charge indication is below a first predeterminedthreshold; and prompting, by the remote computing device, the user toselect a back-up contact in response to determining that the firstbattery charge indication is below the first predetermined threshold.Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remote computing device, theback-up contact selected by the user to the vehicle management system.

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the vehicle management system, awireless communication to the back-up contact in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the vehiclemanagement system is no longer able to communicate with the remotecomputing device. The wireless communication can comprise locationinformation regarding the user. The wireless communication can beconfigured to prompt the back-up contact to take action to aid the user.The wireless communication can prompt the back-up contact to select apick-up time and pick-up location for the user. The wirelesscommunication can prompt the back-up contact to select where the vehicleshould go (e.g., the back-up contact can instruct the vehicle to move toa waiting location, a home base, and/or to the user's home).

Some embodiments comprise granting control, by at least one of theremote computing device and the vehicle management system, of theself-driving vehicle to the back-up contact in response to receiving, bythe remote computing device, the back-up contact from the user. Inseveral embodiments, granting control enables the back-up contact tochoose a destination for the self-driving vehicle.

Some embodiments comprise granting control, by at least one of theremote computing device and the vehicle management system, of theself-driving vehicle to the back-up contact in response to receiving, bythe remote computing device, the back-up contact from the user and inresponse to determining, by the vehicle management system, that thevehicle management system is no longer able to communicate with theremote computing device.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device,that the first battery charge indication is below a first predeterminedthreshold; determining, by the remote computing device, that a back-upcontact is located within 50 yards of the user; and prompting, by theremote computing device, the user to select the back-up contact to atleast one of receive a notification regarding the self-driving vehicleand control at least one movement of the self-driving vehicle. Promptingthe user can be in response to determining that the first battery chargeindication is below the first predetermined threshold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages are described belowwith reference to the drawings, which are intended to illustrate, butnot to limit, the invention. In the drawings, like reference charactersdenote corresponding features consistently throughout similarembodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a self-driving vehicle,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a self-driving vehicle,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates a diagrammatic view of another method of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 15-20 illustrate diagrammatic views of methods of using aself-driving vehicle, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 21 illustrates a perspective view of a top side, a front side and apassenger side of a vehicle guidance system coupled to a vehicle,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 22 illustrates a perspective view of the top side, a backside sideand a driver side of the vehicle guidance system coupled to the vehicle,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 23 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a first time after a riderwas dropped off at a drop-off location, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 24 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a second time after the riderwas dropped off at the drop-off location, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, inventivesubject matter extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments toother alternative embodiments and/or uses, and to modifications andequivalents thereof. Thus, the scope of the claims appended hereto isnot limited by any of the particular embodiments described below. Forexample, in any method or process disclosed herein, the acts oroperations of the method or process may be performed in any suitablesequence and are not necessarily limited to any particular disclosedsequence. Various operations may be described as multiple discreteoperations in turn, in a manner that may be helpful in understandingcertain embodiments; however, the order of description should not beconstrued to imply that these operations are order dependent.Additionally, the structures, systems, and/or devices described hereinmay be embodied as integrated components or as separate components.

For purposes of comparing various embodiments, certain aspects andadvantages of these embodiments are described. Not necessarily all suchaspects or advantages are achieved by any particular embodiment. Thus,for example, various embodiments may be carried out in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other aspects or advantages as mayalso be taught or suggested herein.

Self-driving vehicles will provide significant savings to the economyand society at-large. For example, self-driving vehicles will not onlygreatly reduce roadway congestion, thus making transportation moreefficient and less costly, but self-driving vehicles will also learn andadapt to human behavior, thus providing an unimaginable level ofconvenience in today's world of transportation. The ability ofself-driving vehicles to positively impact the economy and public is soimpressive that society has a moral imperative to develop self-drivingtechnology such that it can be widely adopted.

Self-driving vehicles have unlimited potential to learn and predicthuman behavior and perform actions accordingly. Many embodimentsdescribed herein enable a self-driving vehicle to monitor human activityand predict when and where the human will be located and whether thehuman needs a ride from the self-driving vehicle. Self-driving vehicleswill be able to perform such tasks with incredible efficacy andaccuracy, which will allow self-driving vehicles to proliferate muchfaster than would otherwise be the case.

Self-driving cars are sometimes referred to as autonomous cars,autonomous vehicles, driverless cars, and driverless vehicles. Variouslevels of “self-driving” behaviors are possible to sense surroundingenvironments and navigate appropriately (e.g., without hitting objects,in a time-efficient manner).

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a self-driving vehicle 2 and avehicle management system 4. In some embodiments, the system 4 comprisesthe vehicle 2. In this regard, the system 4 can comprise a plurality ofvehicles (e.g. self-driving vehicles and non-self-driving vehicles) thatare communicatively coupled to the system 4. In some embodiments, thevehicle 2 comprises the system 4. In this regard, the system 4 can beimplemented as an on-board system located within the vehicle 2. In suchembodiments, the system 4 can still be communicatively coupled to othervehicles (e.g. self-driving vehicles and non-self-driving vehicles).

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the system 4 can receive anotification 6 a. In some embodiments, the system 4 can send a firstwireless communication 15 a to the vehicle 2 in response to the system 4receiving the notification 6 a. The first wireless communication 15 acan thereby prompt the vehicle 2 to move towards the person 1. It shouldbe noted that any of the transmission steps described in thisdisclosure, such as sending, receiving, and the like, can be executeddirectly and/or indirectly.

As shown in FIG. 2, the notification 6 a can be any type of notificationthat indicates that a person, such as the person 1 or another person,needs a ride from the vehicle 2. In some embodiments, the notification 6a comprises a checkout notification 6 b, such as a notification that theperson has purchased an item or service from a store. Accordingly, insome embodiments, the vehicle management system 4 receives the checkoutnotification 6 b in response to the person 1 purchasing the item orservice at the store.

According to FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle 2 and/or system 4 may performactions in response to the system 4 receiving an indication of thenotification 6 a. For example, in response to receiving the notification6 a, such as the checkout notification 6 b, the system 4 may send asecond wireless communication 15 b to the remote computing device 12.The second wireless communication 15 b may prompt the remote computingdevice 12 to ask the person 1 whether the person 1 wants the vehicle 2to move towards the person 1. In this regard, the system 4 can respondto the notification by sending an indication to the remote computingdevice 12 to determine whether the person 1 wants the vehicle 2 to movetowards the person 1 (e.g. pick up the person 1). Because the vehicle 2and/or system 4 can receive wireless communications while the vehicle 2is in a parked state or a driving state, such as when the vehicle 2 isin a holding pattern (e.g. driving around the parking lot waiting forthe person 1 to be picked up), the system 4 may receive the secondwireless communication 15 c. In some embodiments, the second wirelesscommunication 15 c may instruct the vehicle 2 to move to a parked state,enter the holding pattern, continue the holding pattern, or move towardsa pickup location to retrieve the person 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the notification 6 a can comprise various types ofnotifications and events, such as a first event 6 c associated with theperson 1. In some embodiments, the first event 6 c may comprise a textmessage or email sent by the remote computing device 12, a post on asocial network communicatively coupled to the remote computing device12, such as status or “check in” posted on a social network (e.g.Facebook®, Twitter®, and the like). The first event 6 c may also includeother external events, such as a severe weather alert. For example, thesystem 4 may be configured to determine if severe weather is about tooccur. In response to this determination, the vehicle 2 can move towardsthe person 1 to pick up the person 1 and take them out of harm's way.

The system 4 can also be configured to determine the occurrence of manyother events, such as whether an event or appointment that the person isattending has concluded or is about to conclude whereby the event has aknown ending time. For example, the system 4 can determine that theperson 1 is attending a movie and the movie has ended or is about to endwithin a predetermined amount of time, such as within 5 minutes.

The system 4 can also be configured to determine whether an event orappointment that the person is attending has concluded or is about toconclude whereby the event has an unknown ending time. Describeddifferently, many appointments and events, such as sporting events, canlast for unknown amounts of time. For example, a baseball game may havea tie score whereby the game is extended into extra innings. In thisregard, the system 4 can determine that the person 1 is not onlyattending the baseball game, but the system can determine, via a thirdparty database, whether the game has been extended to extra innings. Thesystem 4 may continue to monitor the progress of the baseball game andonce the game is over, the vehicle 2 may be dispatched to retrieve theperson 1. The system 4 may further be configured with advanced features,or analytics, to determine the conclusion of the event based uponstatistical probabilities. For example, the system 4 may be monitoringthe progress of the baseball game and the system 4 may determine thatthe home team has scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 12^(th) inning andthat the home team now leads by a score of 8-1. The system 4 mayimplement statistical analysis and determine that the other team has avery low statistical chance of scoring 7 or more runs during the top ofthe 13^(th) inning. In response to this determination, the vehicle 2 maymove towards the person 1 based upon the assumption that the game willend after the top of the 13^(th) inning. It should be appreciated thatthese are just a few of the many examples of how statistical analysisand analytics can be used to predict the end of events with unknownending times. Accordingly, in response to this analysis, the vehicle 2and system 4 can respond by performing any appropriate action, asdescribed in this disclosure.

The notification 6 a can also include various notifications, such as asecond checkout notification 6 f. The second checkout notification 6 fcan indicate that the person 1 has purchased a second item from the samestore, or even a different store. This type of notification can indicatethat the person 1 is still shopping and may not want to be picked upjust yet. Alternatively, this type of notification can indicate that theperson 1 has concluded her shopping and is ready to be picked up. Thesystem 4 can learn the person's behavior patterns and respond to futureoccurrences in accordance with these patterns, which can indicate theperson's desires.

In some embodiments, the system 4 receives the checkout notification 6 bin response to the person 1 purchasing the item with a credit card. Inresponse to the checkout notification, the vehicle 2 can thereby movetowards the person 1. In some embodiments, the system 4 can furtherdetermine the location data 14 of the remote computing device 12 of theperson in response to the checkout notification (e.g. credit cardtransaction) and the vehicle 2 can thereby move towards the location ofthe remote computing device 12. To further illustrate with a scenario, aperson grocery shopping in a store may proceed through the checkout laneand pay for his/her groceries with a credit card. The vehicle 2 and/orsystem 4 can detect the occurrence of the credit card transaction, whichcan thereby indicate that the person 1 is done grocery shopping andabout to leave the store. Accordingly, in response to the credit cardtransaction, the vehicle 2 can move towards the person, move to thelocation where the vehicle 2 dropped the person 1 off, move to apredetermined location, move to a location of the person's remotecomputing device 12 (which can indicate the location of the person 1),or move to any other location to thereby pick up the person 1.

Because so many people carry remote computing devices, such assmartphones, the system 4 can monitor and respond to various eventsassociated with remote computing devices. For example, in someembodiments where the person 1 has a remote computing device 12, inresponse to the electronic payment transaction for a purchase of theitem at the store, the system 4 can receive the checkout notification 6b, such as a first checkout notification 6 b. It should be appreciatedthat the electronic payment transaction can be a mobile payment and/ordigital wallet service, such as Apple Pay (provided by Apple Inc.) thatlets users make payments with their remote computing devices, whichinclude smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, and the like. It shouldalso be appreciated that the electronic payment transaction can includeservices like Android Pay (provided by Android, Inc.), Samsung Pay(provided by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.), and the like.

Embodiments of the system 4 can also be configured to determine whetherthe remote computing device 12 is located within a predetermineddistance of the vehicle 2. In this regard, the first wirelesscommunication 15 a can prompt the vehicle 2 to move towards the person 1having the remote computing device 12 in response to the remotecomputing device 12 being located within the predetermined distance. Forexample, the system 4 may determine that the person 1 was previouslylocated with respect to the vehicle a distance greater than thepredetermined distance, but the person 1 has now moved to within thepredetermined distance of the vehicle. Accordingly, this can indicatethat the person 1 is ready to be picked up by the vehicle 2. Inresponse, the vehicle 2 can move towards the person 1 to pick up theperson 1. It should be appreciated that the predetermined distance canbe any distance preset by the vehicle manufacturer, vehicle owner,vehicle operator, and anyone affiliated with the vehicle 2 and/or system4. Additionally, the predetermined distance can be any distance such as10 feet, 100 feet, 1,000 feet, 1 mile, and any distance greater than 1mile.

The system 4 can also be configured to send various wirelesscommunications to the vehicle 2 in response to the location of theremote computing device 12. In some embodiments, if the remote computingdevice 12 is not located within the predetermined distance of thevehicle 2, the system 4 can send a second wireless communication 15 b tothe remote computing device 12. However, in some embodiments, if theremote computing device 12 is located within the predetermined distanceof the vehicle 2, the system 4 can send the second wirelesscommunication 15 b to the remote computing device 12. The secondwireless communication 15 b can prompt the remote computing device 12 toask the person 1 whether the person 1 wants the vehicle 2 to movetowards the person 1. To better illustrate with a real-life scenario, ifthe person 1 is shopping at a large shopping mall, the system 4 maydetermine that the remote computing device 12 (and the person 1) islocated greater than 2,000 feet away from the vehicle 2, perhaps at theother end of the shopping mall. In response to this determination, thesystem 4 may then send the second wireless communication 15 b to theremote computing device 12 to determine if the person 1 wants to getpicked up at the other end of the shopping mall or if the person doesnot want to get picked up, because he/she wants to continue shopping.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the system 4 can also be configured toreceive a third wireless communication 15 c in response to the system 4sending the second wireless communication 15 b and/or the remotecomputing device 12 receiving the second wireless communication 15 b.Stated differently, the remote computing device 12 can be configured tosend the third wireless communication 15 b in response to the system 4sending the second wireless communication 15 b and/or the remotecomputing device 12 receiving the second wireless communication 15 b.Accordingly, in some embodiments, the system 4 can receive the thirdwireless communication 15 c from the remote computing device 12. Thethird wireless communication 15 c can include various instructions, suchas first instructions to maintain the vehicle 2 in a parked state,second instructions to move the vehicle 2 towards the person 1, thirdinstructions to put the vehicle 2 in a holding pattern mode whereby thevehicle 2 drives around a portion of a parking lot or roadway waitingfor the person 1 to be ready to be picked up, and the like.

Furthermore, the third wireless communication 15 c can includeinstructions to perform actions for a predetermined amount of time, oran amount of time until the system 4 receives a subsequent notification.For example, the third wireless communication 15 c can includeinstructions to maintain the vehicle 2 in a parked state for apredetermined amount of time or maintain the holding pattern until thesystem 4 receives a subsequent notification indicating the person 1 isready to be picked up. Once the predetermined amount of time haselapsed, the vehicle 2 can perform subsequent actions, such as any ofthe actions described in this disclosure, including moving towards theperson 1.

Embodiments can also include communications between the person 1 andvehicle 2 and/or system 4 whereby the person 1 can provide specificlocation data 14 to the system 4 so that the vehicle 2 can pick up theperson 1 at a desired location. For example, in some embodiments, inresponse to the system 4 receiving the third wireless communication 15c, the system 4 can send a fourth wireless communication 15 d to theremote computing device 12. The fourth wireless communication 15 d canprompt the remote computing device 12 to ask the person 1 where theperson 1 wants to meet the vehicle 2. The system 4 can then receivedesired location data for where the person 1 wants to meet the vehicle2. This configuration can provide user convenience for instances whenportions of the roadway are congested with traffic. Accordingly, theperson 1 (i.e. user) can thereby summon the vehicle to a new desiredlocation with less traffic.

The system 4 can also be configured to perform advanced steps to moreaccurately determine not only whether the person 1 is in need of a ridefrom the vehicle 2, but also the location of the remote computing device12 and/or person 1. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, in someembodiments, the system 4 can determine the connectivity of the remotecomputing device 12 and thereby perform actions with the vehicle 2 inresponse to the connectivity of the remote computing device 12. In someembodiments, in response to receiving a notification of an occurrence ofan event, such as the checkout notification 6 b, the system 4 can thendetermine whether the remote computing device 12 is connected to acellular network and/or a wireless network. In response to determiningthe remote computing device 12 is not connected to the cellular network,the system 4 can maintain the vehicle 2 in a parked state. Described infurther detail, the system 4 may detect that the person has purchased anitem from a store, and the system 4 may perform additional verificationsto determine whether the person 1 is actually leaving the store. Assuch, in response to the checkout notification 6 b, the system 4 maydetermine that the remote computing device 12 is not connected to thecellular network, which may indicate that the person and the remotecomputing device 12 are still located inside the store. The system 4 maydetermine that the remote computing device 12 is instead connected tothe wireless network (perhaps the wireless network operated by thestore), which may further indicate that the person is still inside thestore and not yet ready to leave. Embodiments of the system 4 may beconfigured to respond to these determinations in any number of ways,such as moving the vehicle 2 towards the person 1, maintaining thevehicle 2 in a parked state, and the like.

The system 4 may also perform additional steps to determine whether theperson 1 is ready to be picked up by the vehicle 2. In some embodiments,the system 4 may determine whether the remote computing device 12 waspreviously not connected to the cellular network and then determinewhether the remote computing device 12 is subsequently connected to thecellular network. Additionally, in some embodiments, the system 4 maysend the first wireless communication 15 a to the vehicle 2 in responseto determining that the remote computing device 12 was previously notconnected to the cellular network and then determining whether theremote computing device is subsequently connected to the cellularnetwork. This sequence may indicate that the person 1 was located insidea building where her remote computing device 12 was unable to receive asignal, and then the person 1 moved near the exit of the building oreven outside the building whereby her remote computing device 12 wasable to receive a signal. This may indicate that the person 1 needs tobe picked up by the vehicle 2.

The system 4 may also be configured to receive manual summons requestsfrom the person 1, whereby the summons request can indicate that theperson 1 would like to be picked up by the vehicle 2. As illustrated inFIG. 5, in some embodiments, the system 4 may receive a pickup request 6d for the vehicle 2 to pick up the person 1. Accordingly, the vehicle 2may move towards the person 1 and/or pick up the person 1. It should beappreciated that the person 1 may manually summon the vehicle 2 bysubmitting a request through her remote computing device 12, which canbe received by the system 4.

The system 4 can also be configured to search for location data 14 ofthe remote computing device 12. In some embodiments, searching for thelocation data 14 occurs in response to various other events ornotifications 6 a, such as the electronic payment transaction. In thisregard, the system 4 can determine the location of the remote computingdevice 12, and because the person 1 likely has the remote computingdevice 12 close by, or coupled to her person, the location data 14 canthereby indicate the location of the person 1. Accordingly, the system 4can also be configured to send the location data 14 of the remotecomputing device 12 to the vehicle 2. The location data 14 can therebyallow the vehicle 2 to drive towards the location of the remotecomputing device 12, to thereby retrieve the person 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, some embodiments of the system 4 can alsoreceive a requested pickup location that indicates where the person 1would like to be picked up by the vehicle 2. In this manner, the person1 may request the pickup location in a number of ways. In someembodiments, the person 1 sends a text message, via the remote computingdevice 12, which includes location data, such as a street address, tothe system 4. The text message can thereby instruct the vehicle 2 topick up the person at a requested location 20. In some embodiments, theperson 1 drops a pin on a map displayed on the screen of the remotecomputing device 12 to indicate the location where the person 1 wouldlike to be picked up. Once the system 4 receives the requested location20, the vehicle 2 can thereby travel towards the requested location 20of the person 1. The system 4 can also be configured to recognizefrequently visited, or known locations, such as home, work, and thelike.

With continued reference to FIG. 5, the system 4 may also performadditional steps to precisely coordinate the arrival time of the person1 at the requested location 20 with the arrival time of the vehicle 2 atthe requested location 20. Accordingly, the system 4 may determine atime of arrival of the person at the requested location 20. In someembodiments, the vehicle 2 may arrive at the requested location 20 atapproximately the time of arrival of the person. In other words, theperson 1 and the vehicle 2 arrive at the requested location 20 atapproximately the same time. In some embodiments, the vehicle 2 mayarrive at the requested location 20 before the time of arrival of theperson 1. Even still, in some embodiments, the vehicle 2 may arrive atthe requested location 20 after the time of arrival of the person. Itshould be appreciated the term “approximately” may be defined asarriving within plus or minus 5 minutes. In other words, the person 1and the vehicle 2 may arrive at the requested location 20 within 5minutes of each other.

The system 4 may even determine travel times for the person 1 andvehicle 2 to the requested location 20 and thereby coordinate thedeparture of the vehicle 2 so that it corresponds with the arrival ofthe person 1. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the system 4 may determine afirst travel time for the vehicle 2 to arrive at the requested location20. The system 4 may also determine a second travel time for the person1 to arrive at the requested location 20. The system 4 may thendetermine whether the second travel time is greater than the firsttravel time, or whether the second travel time is equal to or less thanthe first travel time. In response to the system 4 determining that thesecond travel time is greater than the first travel time, the system 4may delay the vehicle's departure by an amount of time so that thevehicle arrives at the requested location 20 at approximately the sametime as the person 1. In other words, the system 4 can delay the vehicle4 arriving at the requested location 20 in response to determining thesecond travel time is greater than the first travel time. In someembodiments, delaying arriving at the requested location 20 can includedelaying arriving at the requested location 20 by an amount of time lessthan or equal to the difference between the second travel time and thefirst travel time. In response to the system 4 determining that thesecond travel time is equal to or less than the first travel time, thesystem 4 may immediately dispatch the vehicle 2 so that the vehicle 2arrives at the requested location 20 as close as possible to the arrivaltime of the person 1. In the event that the second travel time is lessthan the first travel time, the system 4 may send a notification to theremote computing device 12 to thereby notify the person 1 that thevehicle 2 will arrive later than the person 1.

This disclosure also includes embodiments configured to monitor aperson's computer activity and then pick up the person 1 in response tothe activity. Specifically, these embodiments can be useful during theworkday while the person 1 is at work. Accordingly, the notification 6 acan include various computer notifications, such as a logoutnotification 6 e whereby the person 1 logs out of a computer, such as awork computer. As shown in FIG. 7, the system 4 can receive the logoutnotification 6 e in response to the person logging out of a computer.The logout notification 6 e can indicate that the person 1 is leavingwork for the day and the person 1 needs to be picked up by the vehicle2. In response to the system 4 receiving the logout notification 6 e,the vehicle 2 can then move towards a location to pick up the person 1.

People often logout out of their computers at various times during themiddle of the workday but don't intend to leave work. Rather, the personmay log out for various activities that commonly occur during theworkday and/or occur onsite at the office, such as meetings, bathroombreaks, coffee breaks, and the like. In some embodiments, the system 4may determine that the logout notification 6 e occurs during apredetermined time of day. Accordingly, the system 4 may send the firstwireless communication 15 a to the vehicle 2 in response to receivingthe logout notification 6 e and the logout notification 6 e occurringduring the predetermined time of day. In other words, the system 4 canbe configured to pick up or not pick up the person in response to thelogout notification 6 e. For example, if the logout notification 6 eoccurs during a predetermined time of day, such as during working hours(e.g. 9 am to 5 pm), then the system 4 may not instruct the vehicle 2 topick up the person 1. Whereas, if the logout notification 6 e occursduring a second predetermined time of day, such as after 5 pm, then thesystem 4 may instruct the vehicle 2 to pick up the person 1 because thistime is after the person's workday has ended.

However, there are exceptions to this criteria, such as if the logoutnotification 6 e occurs during lunch hours (e.g. 11 am to 1 pm).Accordingly, in response to the logout notification occurring duringlunch hours, the vehicle 2 may move towards the person 1 to pick up theperson 1 and take them to a restaurant or to an offsite appointment.

Additionally, the system 4 may be configured to determine if the logoutnotification 6 e occurs within a predetermined amount of time of ascheduled appointment. The system 4 may further determine the locationof the scheduled appointment. For example, if the system 4 determinesthat the scheduled appointment is located offsite (i.e. located remotelyto the person's work), and the system 4 determines that the scheduledappointment occurs within a predetermined amount of time of theoccurrence of the logout notification 6 e, then the system 4 mayinstruct the vehicle 2 to move towards the person 1 to pick him or herup. Furthermore, if the system 4 determines that the scheduledappointment is located onsite (i.e. the appointment is located in thesame building as the person's work or within a very short distance, suchas 500 feet away), and the system 4 determines that the scheduledappointment occurs within a predetermined amount of time of theoccurrence of the logout notification 6 e, then the system 4 may notinstruct the vehicle 2 to move towards the person 1 to pick him or herup.

Systems and methods may also be configured to determine the signalstrength of the remote computing device 12, which may further indicatethe person's location and need for a ride from the vehicle 2. In someembodiments, the system 4 is configured to determine whether a remotecomputing device 12 associated with the person 1 is disconnected fromthe cellular network or connected to the cellular network, but with afirst signal that is less than a predetermined level. The system 4 canthen determine whether the remote computing device 12 is connected tothe cellular network with a second signal greater than or equal to thepredetermined level. If the system determines that the remote computingdevice 12 is connected to the cellular network with the first signalthat is less (weaker) than the predetermined level, then this mayindicate that the person 1 was previously inside the building (e.g. thestore) and her remote computing device 12 was receiving no signal or aweak signal. The subsequent determination that the remote computingdevice 12 is connected to the cellular network with the second signalstrength that is greater than or equal to the predetermined level mayindicate that the person 1 is outside the building or closer to the exitof the building whereby her remote computing device 12 is receiving astronger signal. These determinations taken in sequence may indicatethat the person 1 is thereby moving toward the exit and in need of aride from the vehicle 2. In response to one or both of thesedeterminations, the system 4 may send a first wireless communication tothe vehicle 2. In some embodiments, the predetermined threshold is equalto the first signal. In some embodiments, the predetermined threshold isequal to the second signal. It should be appreciated that stating that asignal is greater than, less than, or equal to a predetermined level isreferring to the strength of the signal.

The system 4 may also be configured to further determine the person'sneed for a ride from the vehicle 2 by tracking the signal strength ofthe remote computing device 12 at predetermined times of day. As shownin FIG. 8, in some embodiments, the system 4 may determine whether theremote computing device 12 is connected to the cellular network with asecond signal greater than or equal to the predetermined level during apredetermined time of day. In this regard, the system 4 may determinethat the remote computing device 12 is connected to the cellular networkwith a second signal greater than the predetermined threshold. However,determining signal strength alone may not provide enough information forthe system 4 to accurately conclude whether the person 1 needs a ridefrom the vehicle 2.

In this regard, the determination of the second signal strength can befurther augmented by the system 4 determining if the second signaloccurs during a specific time of day, such as between 10 am and 6 pm, orafter 6 pm. For example, if the system 4 determines that the secondsignal is greater than the predetermined threshold at 2 pm, then thismight indicate that the person 1 is outside of the building or near theentrance but is not actually leaving the building. For example, theperson 1 might be taking a short walk break outside the building wherebythe remote computing device 12 receives a stronger signal as compared towhen the remote computing device 12 is inside the building. On the otherhand, if the system 4 determines that the second signal is greater thanthe predetermined threshold at 7 pm, then this might indicate that theperson 1 is near the entrance or physically outside the building, butmore importantly, this determination might indicate that the person 1 isleaving work. In response to this determination, the vehicle 2 can beginmoving towards the person 1 to pick the person 1 up.

In addition to determining the signal strength of the remote computingdevice 12 during predetermined times of day, the system 4 may also beconfigured to determine how long the remote computing device 12 isreceiving a signal with a strength greater than or less than thepredetermined threshold. As shown in FIG. 9, the system 4 can beconfigured to determine whether the remote computing device 12 isdisconnected from the cellular network for at least a predeterminedamount of time or connected to the cellular network with the firstsignal less than the predetermined level for at least the predeterminedamount of time.

In this regard, the system 4 can send the first wireless communicationto the vehicle 2 in response to determining whether the remote computingdevice 12 is disconnected from the cellular network for at least apredetermined amount of time or connected to the cellular network withthe first signal less than the predetermined level for at least thepredetermined amount of time. To further illustrate with an example, theperson 1 may be moving between areas of the building where the cellularsignal or Wi-Fi signal of the remote computing device 12 is impaired.For example, the person 1 might be in an elevator whereby the remotecomputing device 12 receives a diminished signal or no signal at all.Furthermore, depending upon which floor the person 1 is going to, thesystem 4 may determine the amount of time that the remote computingdevice 12 receives the diminished signal and then interpret thisdifferently.

For example, a person 1 may have an office on the 40^(th) floor so whenthe person 1 leaves the office for the day, the person 1 likely has totake the elevator to the 1^(st) floor. Accordingly, the system 4 candetermine how long it commonly takes to travel from the 40^(th) floor tothe 1^(st) floor (plus-minus additional time depending on whether theelevator has to pick up or drop off other passengers). Accordingly, insome instances, the person 1 might travel from the 40^(th) floor toanother floor within the building (e.g. the 25^(th) floor). In thisregard, the system 4 may determine that the remote computing device 12received a diminished signal for an amount of time less than the amountit takes to travel from the 40^(th) floor to the 1^(st) floor. As such,the system 4 may interpret this to mean that the person 1 is not leavingthe building and is instead simply moving between floors in thebuilding, without intending to leave the office. Therefore, the system 4may maintain the vehicle 2 in a parked state in response to determiningthat the remote computing device 12 is disconnected from the cellularnetwork (or connected to the cellular network with the second signalless than the predetermined level) for less than the predeterminedamount of time. In some embodiments, the predetermined amount of timemay be the amount of time it commonly takes for the person 1 to travelby elevator from her work floor to the ground level.

Generally, it should be appreciated that the system 4 can learn theperson's day-to-day behavioral patterns and the system 4 can adapt itsresponses accordingly. Because machine learning can require more thanone data point, the system 4 can also be configured to receive manualinputs from a user, such as the person 1. For example, if the person 1relocates her desk from the 40^(th) floor to the 25^(th) floor, thesystem 4 may be configured to receive a manual input whereby the person1 can override the previous learning of the system 4. In this regard,the system 4 can be fully configured to automatically learn and adjustto a person's behavior, as well as be manually configured to a specificsetting as dictated by the user.

In the past, people parked their vehicles and then had to remember wherethey parked their vehicles. Various systems were later invented to helppeople remember the location of their vehicles. For example, AppleiPhones include a feature that remembers the location at which a userparks her car.

Self-driving vehicles 2, however, present a major difficulty: Thesevehicles sometimes can park themselves when users are not in thevehicle, so users (e.g., people who use the cars to get rides) might notknow where to find their vehicles. This is often not a problem because aperson can use a remote computing device 12 such as a smartphone (e.g.,an iPhone) or a tablet device (e.g., an iPad) to open an app that summona vehicle 2 to pick up the person. Some of the embodiments describedherein address how the system picks up the user in the event that theuser's smartphone is lost, broken, or has a dead battery (such that theperson cannot use her smartphone to tell the vehicle when and/or whereto pick her up). The vehicle management system 65 and the self-drivingvehicle 2 can thereby respond in a number of ways, such as sending aself-driving vehicle 2 to a pick-up location in an attempt to pick-upthe user.

The vehicle management system 65 can be a portion of the self-drivingvehicle 2. Communication between the vehicle 2 and the vehiclemanagement system 65 can occur via electrical wires that couple thevehicle management system 65 to other portions of the vehicle 2.

Additionally, the vehicle management system 65 can be located remotelyrelative to the self-driving vehicle 2. Communication between thevehicle 2 and the vehicle management system 65 can occur via wirelesscommunications that travel over intermediary communication systems.

In some embodiments, intermediary communication systems are used toperform each step. Intermediary communication systems can comprisewireless networks, Wi-Fi routers, Bluetooth systems, cellular networks,telephone networks, Internet systems, servers, cloud computing, remotelylocated computers, satellite systems, communication systems, and anyother suitable means of enabling communication between the variouscomponents.

Furthermore, the communicative coupling between the remote computingdevice 12 and the vehicle management system 65 is via intermediarycommunication systems. In other words, intermediary communicationsystems can communicatively couple the remote computing device 12 andthe vehicle management system 65. This communicative coupling may be viaintermittent wireless communications. For example, the vehiclemanagement system 65 may send a wireless message to the remote computingdevice 12 periodically (e.g., every 10 seconds, every 60 seconds, every10 minutes). As used herein, “periodically” does not imply that everyperiod has the same duration. In some embodiments, the communicativecoupling between the self-driving vehicle 2 and the vehicle managementsystem 65 is via intermediary communication systems.

With reference to FIG. 10, many embodiments include a method of usingthe vehicle management system 65 to operate the self-driving vehicle 2.The vehicle management system 65 is configured to be communicativelycoupled with a remote computing device 12, which is thereby configuredto operate software, such as an iPhone application or an Androidapplication adapted to enable a user to control behaviors of theself-driving vehicle 2. Behaviors can include actions and non-actions ofthe self-driving vehicle 2, such as picking up the user at a location,picking up the user at a time based on a schedule of the user or a timebased on past pick-up times, remaining idle, driving to a residence ofthe user, pulling out of a garage, parking the vehicle, getting gas,charging the vehicle, and the like.

As illustrated by arrow 110 in FIG. 10, methods include couplingcommunicatively, by the vehicle management system 65, the remotecomputing device 12 to the self-driving vehicle 2. The user may therebyuse the remote computing device 12 to perform such actions asdetermining a location of the self-driving vehicle 2 and controllingmovements of the self-driving vehicle 2. As shown by arrow 112, methodsalso include determining, by the vehicle management system 65, that theremote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system 65.

Once this determination has been made, the vehicle management system 65may perform any number of actions. In some embodiments, the vehiclemanagement system 65 identifies a pick-up location 120 of the user.Accordingly, the vehicle management system 65 may thereby send 114 theself-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-up location 120 in response todetermining that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65. In someembodiments, the vehicle management system 65 sends a command or aninstruction 122, which causes the self-driving vehicle 2 to travel tothe pick-up location 120.

Additionally, several embodiments comprise sending, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 to a pick-up location120 in response to (1) detecting, by the remote computing device 12, abattery charge indication below a predetermined threshold and inresponse to (2) determining, by the vehicle management system 65, thatthe remote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled tothe vehicle management system 65. Furthermore, methods include sending,by the vehicle management system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 to apick-up location 120 in response to (1) detecting, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, a battery charge indication below a predeterminedthreshold (e.g., by asking the remote computing device 12 for itsbattery status and then receiving the battery status data from theremote computing device 12) and in response to (2) determining, by thevehicle management system 65, that the remote computing device 12 is nolonger communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65.Methods may also include sending, by the vehicle management system 65,the self-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-up location 120 in response to anestimated pick-up time 124. In other words, if the vehicle managementsystem 65 loses contact with the remote computing device 12, the system65 will wait until a time that is closer to the estimated pick-up timebefore sending the vehicle 2 to the pick-up location 120. This mayreduce the occurrence of false positives (e.g. false alarms orunnecessary pick-up attempts). For example, a user may travel to aconfined location, such as a basement, whereby the remote computingdevice 12 loses communication with the vehicle management system 65. Insuch an instance, the system 65 may wait until at least a predeterminedamount of time has elapsed, such as at least 20 minutes, afterdetermining the remote computing device 12 is no longer communicatingwith the vehicle management system 65 before sending the vehicle 2 tothe pick-up location 120. As such, waiting to send the vehicle 2 to thepick-up location may thereby reduce the occurrence of unnecessarypick-up attempts.

The vehicle management system 65 may further be arranged and configuredto take more deliberate steps to determine whether the remote computingdevice 12 is no longer communicatively coupled with the vehiclemanagement system 65. For example, methods may include determining, bythe vehicle management system 65, that the remote computing device 12 isno longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65 bysending a wireless communication 125 to the remote computing device 12.The system 65 may thereby determine that the remote computing device 12did not respond to the wireless communication 125 and thereby send thevehicle 2 to the pick-up location 120.

Additionally, the vehicle management system 65 may employ other methodsto determine that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the system 65. In some embodiments, methodsinclude determining, by the vehicle management system 65, that theremote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system 65 by determining that a present battery power127 of a battery 126 of the remote computing device 12 is depleted belowa predetermined threshold 130 of the battery power 128. Thepredetermined threshold may be any amount or percentage of the batterypower 128, such as 90%, 50%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 1%, and even 0%. In someembodiments, the battery power 128 is the initial overall batterycapacity (at the time of purchase) or the present overall batterycapacity (at the present time of performing the method steps) of theremote computing device 12. This can ensure that the system 65 accountsfor changes, over time, to the performance of the remote computingdevice 65 so that the system 65 and vehicle 2 provide service thatmatches the present day conditions of the remote computing device 12.However, in some embodiments, the system 65 is programmed not to accountfor changes in battery performance to the remote computing device 12.

In several cases, the vehicle management system 65 will be able todistinguish between a remote computing device 12 that has a dead batteryand a remote computing device 12 that is simply turned off. If thebattery 126 is dead, then the vehicle management system 65 can try topick up the user. If the remote computing device 12 is simply turnedoff, then having the vehicle management system 65 try to pick up theuser is unnecessary. If the remote computing device 12 is simply turnedoff, then the vehicle management system 65 can wait until the remotecomputing device 12 is turned back on to receive pick up instructionsfrom the user.

In some cases, however, the vehicle management system 65 might not beable to distinguish between a remote computing device 12 that has a deadbattery and a remote computing device 12 that is simply turned off. Ifthe vehicle management system 65 does not receive a reply to the vehiclemanagement system's attempts to communicate with the remote computingdevice 12, the vehicle management system 65 may assume the remotecomputing device 12 is unable to send pick up instructions, and thus,can send the vehicle 2 to try to pick up the user (either right away orlater, closer to an estimated pick up time). This approach sometimesleads to unnecessary pick-up attempts (e.g., when the user's remotecomputing device 12 is simply turned off rather than out of batterypower).

To reduce unnecessary pick-up attempts, the vehicle management system120 can rely on two indicators. The first indicator can includeperiodically asking the remote computing device 12 for the status of itsbattery power. The second indicator can include sending a wirelesscommunication 125 to the remote computing device 12. If the remotecomputing device 12 does not reply to the wireless communication 125,then the vehicle management system 65 can interpret the lack of a replyas the remote computing device 12 no longer being communicativelycoupled to the vehicle management system 65.

If the vehicle management system 65 receives data from the remotecomputing device 12 that indicates the battery power 128 of the remotecomputing device 12 is below a predetermined threshold (e.g., less than40% of a full charge, less than 30% of maximum capacity), and then theremote computing device 12 does not reply to a wireless communication125 from the vehicle management system 65, the vehicle management system65 can enter a “disabled phone mode” and can send the vehicle 2 to pickup the user at any moment in time, such as immediately, within thirtyminutes of determining that the remote computing device 12 did not replyto the wireless communication 125, and/or at a pick-up time that thevehicle management system 65 estimated based on historical behavior ofthe user or by analyzing the user's calendar (e.g., schedule). Usingboth the battery status data and the lack of a response from the remotecomputing device 12 can reduce unnecessary pick-up attempts.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, methods can further include determining, bythe vehicle management system 65, that the remote computing device 12 isno longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65 inresponse to determining that the vehicle management system 65 has notreceived a first wireless communication 132 from the remote computingdevice 12 for a predetermined amount of time. In some embodiments, thepredetermined amount of time is greater than thirty seconds and lessthan thirty minutes. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the predeterminedamount of time can be a time from when the vehicle management system 65last tried to communicate with the remote computing device 12.

False alarms may still occur, as such, the vehicle management system 65may be arranged and configured to respond accordingly. For example, ifthe remote computing device 12 starts communicating with the vehiclemanagement system 65 again (e.g., because the device 12 regainedreception or the user charged the device 12), the vehicle 2 may therebypark itself. Stated differently, after sending the self-driving vehicle2 to the pick-up location 120, the vehicle management system 65 mayinstruct the self-driving vehicle 2 to find a parking location 134 inresponse to determining, by the vehicle management system 65, thatcommunicative coupling between the vehicle management system 65 and theremote computing device 12 has been restored.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system 65 may not initiallyhear from the remote computing device 12, so the system 65 repeatedlytries to communicate with the device 12 so the system 12 knows when thedevice 12 regains reception. As shown in FIG. 11, methods may therebyinclude sending a second wireless communication 136 from the vehiclemanagement system 65 to the remote computing device 12 in response todetermining that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65. The secondwireless communication 136 may be configured to elicit a reply wirelesscommunication 138 from the remote computing device 12 to the vehiclemanagement system 65 when the remote computing device 12 regainscellular communication abilities. The system 65 may repeatedly send thesecond wireless communication 136 until the remote computing device 12finally receives a response from the remote computing device 12 (e.g.,the phone leaves the building that was blocking reception).

Oftentimes, the remote computing device 12 eventually regains receptionand re-establishes communication with the vehicle management system 65.Accordingly, and as further shown in FIG. 10, methods may also includesending a second wireless communication 136 from the vehicle managementsystem 65 to the remote computing device 12 in response to determiningthat the remote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupledto the vehicle management system 65. The second wireless communication136 is configured to elicit a reply wireless communication 138 from theremote computing device 12 to the vehicle management system 65 when theremote computing device 12 regains a connection, such as a cellularcommunication or Wi-Fi communication. Methods may also includeinstructing, by the vehicle management system 65, the self-drivingvehicle 2 to find a parking location 134 in response to receiving thereply wireless communication 138. It should be appreciated that theparking location 134 can be located remotely relative to the pick-uplocation 120. In some embodiments, the parking location 134 is the same,or nearly the same, location as the pick-up location 120. In someembodiments, the pick-up location 120 is within fifty yards of theparking location 134 or a drop-off location 140 where the self-drivingvehicle 2 last dropped off the user.

The vehicle management system 65 may define various modes so that theself-driving vehicle 2 may pick up the user. For example, theself-driving vehicle 2 may enter an emergency mode when the vehiclemanagement system 65 is unable to communicate with the remote computingdevice 12. Once communication is re-established, the vehicle 2 maythereby exit emergency mode and park itself, either in the originalparking location or in a new parking location. It should be appreciatedthat when the self-driving vehicle 2 is in the emergency mode, thevehicle management system 65 sends a series of second wirelesscommunications 136 to the remote computing device 12. In other words, inthe emergency mode, the vehicle management system 65 sends multiplerequests to the remote computing device 12, and then when the vehiclemanagement system 65 does contact the remote computing device 12, thevehicle 2 can repark itself or pick up the user.

The vehicle management system 65 may also be configured to receive apick-up location 120 and a pick-up time 142 prior to the remotecomputing device losing communication with the vehicle management system65. For example, the system 65 may receive the location information 120,142 at the time a user downloads the software. As such, methods includereceiving, by the vehicle management system 65, at least one of thepick-up location 120 and the pick-up time 142 from the remote computingdevice 12 prior to determining, by the vehicle management system 65,that the remote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupledto the vehicle management system 65.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the vehicle management system 65 may alsodetermine the pick-up location 120 based on location data 144 from theremote computing device 12. Accordingly, methods may includedetermining, by the vehicle management system 65, the pick-up location120 by analyzing location data 144 of the remote computing device in aperiod 146 within a predetermined amount of time (e.g., thirty minutes)of when the vehicle management system 65 determines that the remotecomputing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system 65. The location data 144 can be GPS data from theremote computing device 12.

Furthermore, methods may include determining, by the vehicle managementsystem 65, a pick-up time 142 based on the location data 144 of theremote computing device 12 during the period 146. For example, thesystem 65 may determine that the remote computing device 12 is locatedoffshore, in a location unreachable by the vehicle 2. In this regard,the system 65 may predict a time at which the remote computing device 12will be located in or adjacent to a location where the vehicle 2 is ableto drive and thereby pick up the user.

With continued reference to FIG. 11, the system 65 may have access todata regarding past drop-offs and past pick-ups, which can be used toshow trends and predict times whereby the user may be located. In thisregard, the system 65 may access the user's past schedule, and even theuser's current schedule and future schedule to determine where a usermay be located. Accordingly, methods may include sending 160, by thevehicle management system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-uplocation 120 at a time 162 determined, by the vehicle management system65, based on analyzing past amounts of time 164 from past drop-offs topast pick-ups. Methods may also include sending 160, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-up location120 at a time 162 determined, by the vehicle management system 65, basedon analyzing past amounts of time 164 from past drop-offs to pastpick-ups at past drop-off locations within a predetermined distance(e.g., fifty yards) of a most recent drop-off location 166. Even still,methods include analyzing location data 144 of the remote computingdevice 12 after a most recent drop-off 166 of the user, and then sending160, by the vehicle management system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 tothe pick-up location 120 at a time 162 determined, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, based on analyzing the location data 144. In thisregard, the vehicle management system 65 may analyze the user's pastamount of time at the drop-off location and/or analyze typical picktimes of a day at the drop-off location to estimate a pick-up time 142.The vehicle management system 65 may thereby analyze the user's pastamount of time at the last known location of the user (e.g., asrequested from the remote computing device 12 of the user) and/oranalyze typical pick-up times of day at the last known location of theuser to estimate a pick-up time 142. Additionally, methods may includeanalyzing, by the vehicle management system 65, a schedule 190 of theuser to estimate at least one of the pick-up location 120 and a pick-uptime 142.

In some embodiments, the self-driving vehicle 2 may travel to thepick-up location 120 but find that the user is not located at thepick-up location 120. As such, the vehicle 2 may leave the pick-uplocation 120 and then later travel back to the pick-up location 120 atincreasing intervals in attempts to pick up the user. For example, thevehicle 2 might travel to the pick-up location 120 to find the user isnot there and then come back to the pick-up location 120 in 20 minutes,the next come back time the vehicle 2 might come back 30 minutes later,and the next time the vehicle 2 might come back an hour later. Stateddifferently, after sending 160 the self-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-uplocation 120, methods may include determining 170, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, that the user is not located at the pick-uplocation 120, and instructing 172, by the vehicle management system 65,the self-driving vehicle 2 to move away from the pick-up location 120and to return to the pick-up location 120 after a first period of time174. Methods may also include determining 176 that the user is notlocated at the pick-up location after the first period of time 174, andinstructing 178, by the vehicle management system 65, the self-drivingvehicle 2 to move away from the pick-up location 120 and to return tothe pick-up location 120 after a second period of time 180.Additionally, methods may even include determining 182 that the user isnot located at the pick-up location 120 after the second period of time180, and instructing 184, by the vehicle management system 65, theself-driving vehicle 2 to move away from the pick-up location 120 and toreturn to the pick-up location 120 after a third period of time 186. Insome embodiments, the third period 186 is greater than the second period180, and the second period 180 is greater than the first period 174.However, in some embodiments, the third period 186 less than the secondperiod 180, and the second period 180 is less than the first period 174.Even still, the first, second, and third periods 174, 180, 186 can allbe equal to each other.

In some scenarios, the self-driving vehicle 2 may be unable to locateand/or pick up the user. For example, the user may have taken adifferent means of transportation to travel to her next destination(e.g., travel back home). Accordingly, the vehicle management system 65may be arranged and configured to instruct the vehicle 2 to travel toanother location, such as the user's residence and/or a location wherethe car will be safe and easily located by the user at a later time. Assuch, methods include determining that the user is not located at thepick-up location 120, and instructing, by the vehicle management system65, the self-driving vehicle 2 to move to a predetermined parkinglocation 192 that is located remotely relative to the pick-up location120 and a most-recent drop-off location 166.

The predetermined components, such as the predetermined parking location192, may be received by the vehicle management system 65 at a time priorto the system 65 determining that the remote computing device 12 is nolonger communicatively coupled to the system 65. For example, somemethods include receiving, by the vehicle management system 65, from theremote computing device 12 the predetermined parking location 192 priorto determining, by the vehicle management system 65, that the remotecomputing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system 65. In several embodiments, the predetermined parkinglocation 192 is a residence of the user and/or parking spot associatedwith the user, such as a friend's house, a parking spot at the user'semployer, and the like.

As further illustrated in FIG. 11, in some embodiments, the vehiclemanagement system 65 is arranged and configured to notify other people(e.g., an emergency contact and/or a person associated with the user) ofvarious situations involving the self-driving vehicle 2 and/or the user.For example, methods include sending, by the vehicle management system65, a notification 212 to an emergency contact 210 in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system 65, that the remotecomputing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system 65. In some embodiments, the notification 212comprises at least one of a most recent drop-off location 166 of theuser and any location information of the self-driving vehicle 2. Itshould be appreciated that the vehicle management system 65 may bearranged and configured to send to the emergency contact 210 any type ofnotification and/or information regarding the user's last knownlocation, the self-driving vehicle's location, and the like.

Because the user and the emergency contact 210 may have been in contactwith each other during the time when the remote computing device 12 andthe vehicle management system 65 were not communicatively coupled, thesystem 65 may be configured to receive information from the emergencycontact 210. In some embodiments, methods include receiving from theemergency contact 210, by the vehicle management system 65, at least oneof a pick-up time 214 and the pick-up location 216 for the user inresponse to sending the notification 212. As such, the vehiclemanagement system 65 may be arranged and configured to becommunicatively coupled to at least two remote computing devices 12,associated and/or unassociated with the user, so that the system 65 canreceive any such information that may help the self-driving vehicle 12and/or system 65 locate and thereby pick up the user.

The vehicle management system 65 may send notifications and/orcommunicate with the emergency contact 210 under a variety ofcircumstances. For example, the vehicle management system 65 mightdetermine the user is not at the pick-up location 120 by sensing thatthe user did not enter the self-driving vehicle 2. As such, in someembodiments, methods include sending the notification 212 in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system 65, that the user is notlocated at the pick-up location 120. The notification can include atext, a phone call, a text and phone call, and the like to anotherperson associated and/or unassociated with the user.

In some embodiments, the emergency contact 210 is a friend or familymember of the user. The emergency contact 210 may even include emergencypersonnel (e.g., a 911-dispatcher, any personnel associated with lawenforcement, roadside service, fire department, and the like). The usermay have more than one emergency contact 210. In this regard, thevehicle management system 65 may contact the emergency contacts 210according to priority. For example, the vehicle management system 65 maycontact the user's spouse first and then contact emergency personnelsecond.

Self-driving vehicles 2 may be used to pick up users in high trafficlocations or environments where the vehicle 2 is not allowed to park inone location for long periods of time, such as in front of a mall onBlack Friday or in front of a stadium after a game. The vehiclemanagement system 65 may thereby be arranged and configured such that ifthe user goes to the pick-up location 120, the user may summon theself-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-up location 120 and/or a firstlocation 220 with a smart key 223. The smart key 223 can be a key fobconfigured to enable unlocking a door of the self-driving vehicle 2. Inmany embodiments, the smart key 223 is a wireless verification systemconfigured to send an authorization signal to the vehicle 2 so thevehicle 2 knows that the user is authorized to use the vehicle 2. Smartkeys 223 are made by many car brands including Lexus, Acura, BMW, andToyota. In some embodiments, the user may press a button on the smartkey 223, or key fob, to summon the self-driving vehicle 2 to thelocation 120, 220. It should be appreciated that the smart key 223 canbe a device that sends a radio wave (e.g., a Bluetooth signal). In someembodiments, the smart key 223 is a second remote computing device 12.Generally, the smart key 223 is a radio communication device that usesBluetooth and/or any type of wireless transmission to send a signal tothe vehicle management system 65 and/or self-driving vehicle 2.

Accordingly, with reference to FIG. 12, methods include couplingcommunicatively 210, by the vehicle management system 65, the remotecomputing device 12 to the self-driving vehicle 2, and then determining212, by the vehicle management system 65, that the remote computingdevice 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem 65.

Additionally, methods include identifying, by the vehicle managementsystem 65, a pick-up location 120 of the user. Additionally, methodsinclude sending 214, by the vehicle management system 65, theself-driving vehicle 2 to a first location 220 that is within a directwireless communication range of a smart key 222 from a most-recentdrop-off location 166 in response to determining, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65. In someembodiments, the sending 214 step comprises sending instructions 222from the vehicle management system 65 to the self-driving vehicle 2.

In order for the self-driving vehicle 2 and/or vehicle management system65 to communicate with the smart key 223, the vehicle 2 may therebyinclude equipment arranged and configured to detect wirelesscommunications from the smart key 223. Accordingly, many methods includereceiving, by the vehicle management system 65, an indication 224 thatan antenna 226 of the self-driving vehicle 2 detected a first wirelesscommunication 230 from the smart key 223, and then sending 214, by thevehicle management system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 to the pick-uplocation 120 in response to receiving the indication 224.

The self-driving vehicle 2 can include multiple directional antennas,each of which is arranged to receive greater power in a specificdirection. This way, the vehicle management system 65 can determinewhich antenna received the greatest signal from the smart key 223, andthereby estimate the direction of the smart key 223 relative to thevehicle 2. The vehicle 2 can then move in the estimated direction andthen “listen” for another wireless signal from the smart key 223, whichcan communicate via radio waves (e.g., Bluetooth). Once the multipledirectional antennas receive another wireless communication, the vehiclemanagement system 65 can determine which antenna received the greatestsignal from the smart key's latest communication, and thereby estimatethe direction of the smart key 223 relative to the vehicle 2. Thevehicle 2 can then correct its estimate of the location of the user ofthe smart key 223. Accordingly, methods include identifying, by thevehicle management system 65, the pick-up location 120 by analyzing adirectionality 232 of the first wireless communication from the smartkey 223.

In some embodiments, the smart key 223 is an electronic deviceconfigured to send radio frequency (“RF”) wireless communicationsdirectly to an antenna of the vehicle 2. The radio frequency wirelesscommunications can be Bluetooth communications. For example, a user canwalk out of a building and then press a button on the smart key 223.Pressing the button on the smart key 223 can cause the smart key 223 tosend an RF wireless communication configured to be detected by thevehicle 2 (if the vehicle 2 is within a direct wireless communicationrange of the smart key 223). The smart key 223 can include an RF antennaconfigured to send and/or receive RF communications.

As shown in FIG. 13, in some embodiments, the remote computing device 12and/or the vehicle management system 65 detects that the battery 126 ofthe remote computing device 12 is low. As such, the device 12 and/orsystem 65 may ask the user for a pick-up location 320 and/or pick-uptime 342 prior to the battery 126 dying. Accordingly, methods includecoupling communicatively 310, by the vehicle management system 65, theremote computing device 12 to the self-driving vehicle 2 and detecting,by the remote computing device 12, a battery charge indication below apredetermined threshold 336. Methods may thereby include notifying, bythe remote computing device 12, the user to select a pick-up time 338 inresponse to detecting the battery charge indication 128 below thepredetermined threshold 130. Additionally, some methods include sending314, by the vehicle management system 65, the self-driving vehicle 2 toa pick-up location 320 in response to the pick-up time 342 selected bythe user.

In some embodiments, the method includes determining 312, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65, and thensending 316, by the vehicle management system 65, the self-drivingvehicle 2 to the pick-up location 320 in response to determining, by thevehicle management system 65, that the remote computing device 12 is nolonger communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65. Insuch embodiments, the pick-up time 342 selected by the user may onlyused if the remote computing device dies. If the remote computing device12 does not die, then the user can simply select a pick-up time 342later.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system 65 is arranged andconfigured to determine that the remote computing device 12 is notcommunicatively coupled to the system 65 because the system 65 has notreceived a wireless communication from the remote computing device 12.Accordingly, methods may also include determining 350, by the vehiclemanagement system 65, that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65 in responseto determining 352 that the vehicle management system 65 has notreceived a first wireless communication 354 from the remote computingdevice for a predetermined amount of time.

FIG. 14 illustrates a diagrammatic view of an embodiment that includes avehicle management system 65 that can be located in the vehicle 2, canbe located remotely relative to the vehicle 2, and can be locatedpartially in the vehicle 2 and partially remotely relative to thevehicle 2. FIG. 14 is explained as FIG. 6 in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/248,910. The entire contents of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/248,910 are incorporated by reference herein. Some embodimentscomprise methods of using a vehicle management system to operate aself-driving vehicle. The vehicle management system can be configured tobe communicatively coupled with a remote computing device configured tooperate software adapted to enable a user to control behaviors of theself-driving vehicle. The software can be an “app” and/or any othersuitable software.

The vehicle management system 65 may send notifications and/orcommunicate with the emergency contact 210 under a variety ofcircumstances. For example, the vehicle management system 65 mightdetermine that is has lost communication with a remote computing device(e.g., a smartphone, smart key, or other electronic device) of the userof the self-driving vehicle 2. This situation can be very troublesomebecause, in some cases, the remote computing device is the means bywhich the user tells the vehicle 2 to pick up the user. In someembodiments, methods include sending a notification in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system 65, that the remotecomputing device is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system. This notification can include a push notification, atext, a phone call, a text and phone call, and/or any suitablecommunication to another person who acts as the “emergency contact” ofthe user.

As used herein, an “emergency contact” can any person or entity to whomthe vehicle management system sends the notification when the vehicle 2has difficulty locating the user (e.g., due to the user not being at thepick-up location, due to a dead or low battery of the remote computingdevice of the user, due to insufficient wireless communication abilitiesof the remote computing device of the user, or any other reason). Asused herein, the term “emergency” does not require there to be a fire,flood, bodily injury, or the like. Simply having trouble communicatingwith the user can be an “emergency” as defined herein even if the useris perfectly safe and unaware that she has lost contact with herself-driving vehicle 2.

In some embodiments, the emergency contact 210 is a friend or familymember of the user. The emergency contact 210 can also be a call-centerworker tasked with helping the user. The emergency contact 210 may eveninclude emergency personnel (e.g., a 911-dispatcher, any personnelassociated with law enforcement, roadside service, fire department, andthe like). The user may have more than one emergency contact 210. Inthis regard, the vehicle management system 65 may contact the emergencycontacts 210 according to priority. For example, the vehicle managementsystem 65 may contact the user's spouse first and then contact emergencypersonnel second.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system,contact information of an electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, acomputer) of the emergency contact (e.g., a person, an entity) inresponse to the user choosing the emergency contact. In severalembodiments, the user chooses the emergency contact via an “app” on hersmartphone or a website on a laptop computer, a desktop computer, atablet computer, or any other suitable computer. The user can alsochoose the emergency contact(s) by talking to a device such as AmazonEcho. The emergency contact selection system can ask the user to specifythe contact information of the person or entity that the user wants totake control of the vehicle 2 in the event that the vehicle managementsystem cannot find the user, cannot communicate with the user, the useris incapacitated (e.g., passed out), etc.

The contact information can include the name, phone number,identification number, username, screenname, address, Skype contactinformation, Facebook name, etc. configured to enable identifying and/orcontacting the emergency contact. For example, the user could select aFacebook profile of the emergency contact, which would enable a systemto find contact information of the person or entity associated with theFacebook profile. In some embodiments, the contact information comprisesa phone number. The vehicle management system can receive the phonenumber and then use the phone number to send push notification, textmessages, phone calls, etc. to the emergency contact.

The contact information can be configured to enable the vehiclemanagement system to send the notification to the emergency contact inresponse to the remote computing device no longer being communicativelycoupled to the vehicle management system.

The emergency contact can comprise a person that the user chose prior tothe vehicle management system determining that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem. The emergency contact can comprise the person authorized by theuser to send movement instructions to the self-driving vehicle in theevent that the vehicle management system is communicatively uncoupledfrom the remote computing device of the user.

Movement instructions can comprise a pick-up time (e.g., a time to pickup the user), a pick-up location (e.g., a location to pick up the user),and/or an instruction to move the vehicle to a remote location (e.g., goto parking spot, a home base, circle the area until finding the user).Movement instructions can also be more specific steering maneuvers suchas turn right here, turn left there, do not hit that car, etc.

The emergency contact can comprise a person that the user chose prior tothe vehicle management system determining that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem. The emergency contact can comprise the person authorized by theuser to send a movement instruction to the self-driving vehicle. Methodscan comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system, the movementinstruction in response to the notification sent by the vehiclemanagement system to the emergency contact.

In several embodiments, the emergency contact comprises an entity thatthe user chose prior to the vehicle management system determining thatthe remote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system. The emergency contact can comprise the entityauthorized to send movement instructions to the self-driving vehicle inthe event that the vehicle management system is communicativelyuncoupled from the remote computing device of the user.

In some embodiments, the emergency contact comprises an entity chosenprior to the vehicle management system determining that the remotecomputing device is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system. The emergency contact can comprise the entityauthorized to send movement instructions to the self-driving vehicle inan event that the vehicle management system is communicatively uncoupledfrom the remote computing device of the user.

Several embodiments comprise coupling communicatively, by the vehiclemanagement system, the remote computing device to the self-drivingvehicle; and sending, by the vehicle management system, a notificationto an emergency contact in response to determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system.

Several embodiments comprise (in response to sending the notification)receiving from the emergency contact, by the vehicle management system,an instruction to move the vehicle to a remote location, and theninstructing, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicleto move to the remote location. The remote location can be a parkingspot, the user's home, a pick-up location, etc.

Some embodiments comprise receiving from the emergency contact, by thevehicle management system, a waiting location in response to sending thenotification, and then instructing, by the vehicle management system,the self-driving vehicle to move to the waiting location. The vehiclecan wait at the waiting location until the vehicle can pick up the user.The waiting location can be located remotely relative to a pick-uplocation of the user. The waiting location can be a parking garage andthe pick-up location can be on a street right outside a store in whichthe user is shopping.

Some embodiments comprise instructing, by the vehicle management system,the self-driving vehicle to return to a home base in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem. The home base can a central storage area (e.g., a parkinggarage) configured to store vehicles. The home base can also be a garageattached to, near, or inside the user's home.

Several embodiments comprise instructing, by the vehicle managementsystem, the self-driving vehicle to return to a home base in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system, that the remote computingdevice is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem and in response to determining, by the vehicle management system,that the user is not located at a pick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise instructing, by the vehicle management system,the self-driving vehicle to return to a home base after a predeterminedamount of time in response to determining, by the vehicle managementsystem, that the remote computing device is no longer communicativelycoupled to the vehicle management system.

Some embodiments comprise instructing, by the vehicle management system,the self-driving vehicle to go to a predetermined pick-up location ofthe user in response to determining, by the vehicle management system,that the remote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled tothe vehicle management system.

Several embodiments comprise instructing, by the vehicle managementsystem, the self-driving vehicle to go to a most recent drop-offlocation of the user in response to determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the user is not located at the most recent drop-off location, andinstructing, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicleto move away from the most recent drop-off location and to return to themost recent drop-off location after a first period of time.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the user is not located at the most recent drop-off location afterthe first period of time, and instructing, by the vehicle managementsystem, the self-driving vehicle to move away from the most recentdrop-off location and to return to the most recent drop-off locationafter a second period of time that is greater than the first period oftime.

Several embodiments comprise determining that the user is not located atthe most recent drop-off location after the second period of time, andinstructing, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicleto move away from the most recent drop-off location and to return to themost recent drop-off location after a third period of time that isgreater than the second period of time.

In some embodiments, a vehicle management system might losecommunicative coupling with a remote computing device, take action inresponse to losing the communicative coupling (e.g., by trying to pickup the user), and then regain communicative coupling. Once communicativecoupling is restored, the vehicle can return to its regular responsemode by finding a parking location and waiting for further instructions(e.g., regarding a pick-up time and location).

In some embodiments, (after determining the remote computing device isno longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system andinstructing, by the vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicleto attempt to pick-up the user) the embodiments comprise instructing, bythe vehicle management system, the self-driving vehicle to find aparking location in response to determining, by the vehicle managementsystem, that communicative coupling between the vehicle managementsystem and the remote computing device has been restored.

Self-driving vehicles can drop off a user 1 and then later can pick-upthe user 1. In some cases, the user 1 owns a self-driving vehicle 2 thatdrops off and picks up the user 1. In other cases, the user 1 pays aservice that owns multiple self-driving vehicles 2. This service mightuse one self-driving vehicle 2 to drop off the user 1 and then might useanother self-driving vehicle 2 to pick up the user 1. A vehiclemanagement system 65 may govern one self-driving vehicle 2 (e.g., ownedby the user 1) and/or may govern many fleets of self-driving vehicles 2.

The vehicle management system 65 can be partially or completelymechanically coupled to the self-driving vehicle 2 (e.g., such that thevehicle transports at least a portion of the vehicle management system65). In some embodiments, the vehicle management system 65 is notmechanically coupled to the self-driving vehicle 2, but iscommunicatively coupled to the self-driving vehicle 2 such that thevehicle management system 65 can provide information such asdestinations, waiting locations, driving directions, trafficinformation, pick-up times, and pick-up locations to the self-drivingvehicle 2.

The vehicle management system 65 can be wirelessly communicativelycoupled to the self-driving vehicle 2 via intermediary communicationsystems 5. The remote computing device 12 can be wirelesslycommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system 65 viaintermediary communication systems 5. Intermediary communication systems5 can comprise wireless networks, cellular networks, telephone networks,Internet systems, servers, cloud computing, remotely located computers,radio communication systems 5, satellite systems, communication systems5, and any other suitable means of enabling wired and/or wirelesscommunication between the remote computing device 12, the vehiclemanagement system 65, and/or the self-driving vehicle 2.

In embodiments that include elements such as sending information orotherwise communicating, the remote computing device 12, the vehiclemanagement system 65, and the self-driving vehicle 2, can do theseelements by using intermediary communication systems 5. For example, theremote computing device 12, the vehicle management system 65, and theself-driving vehicle 2 may send wireless communications and/or receivewireless communications via intermediary communication systems 5, whichcan serve as a communication bridge between the remote computing device12, the vehicle management system 65, and the self-driving vehicle 2.

Once the user 1 is dropped off (e.g., at a shopping area), the vehiclemanagement system 65 may or may not know when the user 1 wants to bepicked up. Even if the user 1 specifies to the vehicle management system65 (e.g., via her remote computing device 12) when the user 1 wants tobe picked up, the user 1's plans may change, which could necessitate anearlier pick-up time, a later pick-up time, and/or a different pick-uplocation. As a result, a dead battery 13 of the user 1's remotecomputing device 12 could be particularly problematic. If the user 1loses the ability to communicate with the vehicle management system 65(e.g., due to a dead smartphone battery 13), the user 1 may be strandedwithout a ride home and the self-driving vehicle 2 may circle the wrongpick-up location for hours or might otherwise wait for hours or evendays for instructions from the user 1.

Some of the embodiments described herein reduce the risk of the user 1being stranded without a means to communicate with the vehiclemanagement system 65. In some embodiments, detecting a battery 13 chargeindication below a threshold can trigger several responses configured tominimize the risk of the self-driving vehicle 2 failing to pick up theuser 1 due to the remote computing device 12 having a low or deadbattery 13.

FIG. 15 illustrates a self-driving vehicle 2 communicatively coupledwith a vehicle management system 65. Intermediary communication systems5 can communicatively couple the vehicle management system 65 to a firstremote computing device 12 of the user 1 and to a second remotecomputing device 12 b of a back-up contact. The back-up contact can beassociated with a person 1 b. The person 1 b can be located near theuser 1 (e.g., within 50 yards) or can be located far away from the user1 (e.g., in a call center in another state). In some cases, the person 1b is a trusted friend of the user 1. The user 1 can transfer control ofthe self-driving vehicle 2 to the back-up contact (e.g., a second remotecomputing device 12 b) owned or controlled by the trusted friend. Insome cases, the person 1 b receives a notification via the back-upcontact (e.g., a second remote computing device 12 b associated with theperson 1 b) in the event that the system determines the risk is highthat the user 1 has lost (or will soon lose) the ability to communicatewith the vehicle management system 65.

Some embodiments comprise methods of using a vehicle management system65 to operate a self-driving vehicle 2. The vehicle management system 65can be configured to be communicatively coupled with a remote computingdevice 12. The remote computing device 12 can be configured to enable auser 1 to control behaviors of the self-driving vehicle 2. The remotecomputing device 12 can comprise a battery 13 configured to provideelectrical power to the remote computing device 12. The battery 13 cancomprise one or more cells. As used herein, a “battery” can be a singlebattery or can be a collection of several batteries configured toprovide electrical power to the remote computing device 12.

Several embodiments comprise coupling communicatively the remotecomputing device 12 to the vehicle management system 65; and detecting,by the remote computing device 12, a first battery 13 charge indicationof the battery 13. The remote computing device 12 can be configured todetect when the first battery 13 charge indication is below a firstpredetermined threshold. Texas Instruments Incorporated, having anoffice in Dallas, Tex., manufactures several battery 13 gauges andbattery 13 monitoring integrated circuits. These integrated circuits canbe used in remote computing devices 12 to enable the remote computingdevices 12 to receive real-time information regarding the voltage,current, charge, health, and estimated depletion of the battery 13.These integrated circuits can detect when the battery 13 chargeindication is below a predetermined threshold. In various embodiments,the predetermined threshold can be a charge level, a voltage level, apercentage of remaining battery 13 charge, an amount of time left beforethe system estimates the battery 13 will be depleted, etc.

The system can take various actions in response to detecting that thebattery 13 life is low (e.g., to reduce the risk of the user 1 needingto communicate with the self-driving vehicle 2, but being unable tocommunicate with the self-driving vehicle 2).

Referring now primarily to FIG. 16, some embodiments comprisedetermining, by the remote computing device 12, that the first battery13 charge indication is below a first predetermined threshold (e.g., seeblock 151). Then the system can prompt, by the remote computing device12, the user 1 to select a pick-up time in response to determining thatthe first battery 13 charge indication is below the first predeterminedthreshold (e.g., see block 152). The system can then send, by the remotecomputing device 12, the pick-up time selected by the user 1 to thevehicle management system 65 (e.g., see arrow 153).

The vehicle management system 65 can comprise a computer system (e.g.,located in the vehicle, located in the Cloud) configured to controlbehaviors of the self-driving vehicle 2 according to instructionsreceived from the user 1 via the remote computing device 12.

The remote computing device 12 can send information to the vehiclemanagement system 65 through direct wireless communication methodsand/or through indirect wireless communication methods (e.g., usingother communication systems 5 such as cellular communication networks,satellite communication networks, radio communication networks, and anyother communication devices and technologies).

Some embodiments comprise prompting, by the remote computing device 12,the user 1 to select a pick-up location in response to determining, bythe remote computing device 12, that a second battery 13 chargeindication is below a second predetermined threshold (e.g., see block154). In several embodiments, the remote computing device 12 has an“app” (e.g., software configured to run on the remote computing device12). The “app” is configured to monitor the battery 13 charge level ofthe remote computing device 12 and then can prompt the user 1 to selecta pick-up time and/or pick-up location in response to determining that abattery 13 charge indication is below a threshold. The “app” can promptthe user 1 via a pop-up notification that appears on the screen of theremote computing device 12. In some embodiments, the prompt includes avibration and/or a sound configured to encourage the user 1 to check herremote computing device 12 for a notification. The notification can askthe user 1 to select a new pick-up time and new pick-up location, whichin some embodiments supersedes a previously selected pick-up time andpick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remote computing device 12,the pick-up location selected by the user 1 to the vehicle managementsystem 65 (e.g., see arrow 155). In some embodiments (but not allembodiments), the second predetermined threshold is lower than the firstpredetermined threshold.

In some cases, the remote computing device 12's battery 13 can be so lowthat the remote computing device 12 (and/or the vehicle managementsystem 65) determines that the battery 13 will run out of power before apick-up time previously selected by the user 1 (and/or determined by thevehicle management system 65). The remote computing device 12 can beconfigured to remind the user 1 about the pick-up time (prior to thepick-up time and before the remote computing device 12 runs out ofbattery 13 power.

For example, if the scheduled pick-up time is 5:00 and the remotecomputing device 12 estimates that its battery 13 will run out around4:00, then the remote computing device 12 can remind the user 1 aboutthe 5:00 pick-up time before the 4:00 battery 13 depletion time toincrease the odds of the user 1 knowing about the pick-up time at 5:00.In some embodiments, the reminder occurs within 90 minutes of thebattery 13 depletion time, within 60 minutes of the battery 13 depletiontime, and/or within 60 minutes of the time at which the remote computingdevice 12 shuts itself off (due to the low battery 13 state).

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device12, that a third battery 13 charge indication is below a thirdpredetermined threshold. (The third predetermined threshold is less thanthe first predetermined threshold.) Some embodiments comprise reminding,by the remote computing device 12, the user 1 regarding the pick-up timein response to determining that the third battery 13 charge indicationis below the third predetermined threshold.

Some embodiments comprise estimating, by at least one of the remotecomputing device 12 and the vehicle management system 65, that a battery13 power supply of the remote computing device 12 will be depletedbefore the pick-up time, and then in response to the estimating,reminding, by the remote computing device 12, the user 1 regarding thepick-up time prior to depleting the battery 13 power supply.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 17, in some embodiments the system(e.g., the remote computing device 12 and/or the vehicle managementsystem 65) already knows a pick-up time and location selected by theuser 1 and/or determined by the system. However, if the systemdetermines that the pick-up time is beyond the expected battery 13 lifeof the remote computing device 12, then the remote computing device 12can be configured to prompt the user 1 to select a new pick-up time andlocation configured to supersede or act as back-ups to the originalpick-up time and location.

This safeguard can be quite helpful because the user 1's plans may havechanged since the system received and/or determined the original pick-uptime and location. This safeguard provides an opportunity for the user 1to update the pick-up time and location before the battery 13 runs outof electrical power.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device 12,a first pick-up time (e.g., see block 156). The remote computing device12 can receive the pick-up time and/or location by the user 1 selectingthe pick-up time and location via on app running on the remote computingdevice 12. For example, the user 1 can enter the pick-up time andlocation. The user 1 can also “click” icons on the screen of the remotecomputing device 12 to select the pick-up time and location.

The system can be configured to estimate, by at least one of the remotecomputing device 12 and the vehicle management system 65, that a battery13 power supply of the remote computing device 12 will be depletedbefore the first pick-up time (e.g., see block 157). In someembodiments, the estimation is based on the system analyzing a chargelevel of the battery 13 and a current and/or predicted rate of battery13 charge usage to calculate an anticipated battery 13 depletion time.Then, in response to the estimating, the system can be configured toprompt, by the remote computing device 12, the user 1 to select a secondpick-up time configured to supersede the first pick-up time (e.g., seeblock 158).

Embodiments can comprise sending, by the remote computing device 12, thesecond pick-up time to the vehicle management system 65 (e.g., see arrow165). Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remote computing device12, the second pick-up time to the vehicle management system 65 suchthat the second pick-up time supersedes the first pick-up time.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device 12,a first pick-up time; estimating, by the remote computing device 12,that a battery 13 power supply of the remote computing device 12 will bedepleted before the first pick-up time; and then in response to theestimating, prompting, by the remote computing device 12, the user 1 toselect a back-up pick-up location (e.g., see block 159).

In some cases, the back-up pick-up location is not used (e.g., insteadof the original pick-up location) unless the battery 13 of the remotecomputing device 12 is so low that the remote computing device 12 cannotsend (or is programmed to not send) wireless communications. In somecases, the back-up pick-up location is not used (e.g., instead of theoriginal pick-up location) unless the battery 13 of the remote computingdevice 12 is so low that the remote computing device 12 turns itselfoff. The vehicle management system 65 may not be able to communicatewith the remote computing device 12 for many reasons, including (but notlimited to) the remote computing device 12 being configured to not send(or receive) wireless communications or the remote computing device 12not having wireless service (e.g., due to being in an area withoutcellular coverage). In these cases, the system can be configured to usea back-up pick-up time and/or location.

The system can determine, based on many factors described herein and/orincorporated by reference, whether the vehicle should go to the originalpick-up location perhaps at the original pick-up time (e.g., see block168) or to the back-up pick-up location perhaps at the back-up pick-uptime (e.g., see block 169).

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remote computing device 12,the back-up pick-up location to the vehicle management system 65 suchthat the vehicle management system 65 is configured to send theself-driving vehicle 2 to the back-up pick-up location in response tothe vehicle management system 65 being unable to communicate with theremote computing device 12 (e.g., see arrow 167).

The system can prioritize battery 13 life according to the needs of theuser 1. Enabling the user 1 to communicate with the vehicle managementsystem 65 can be such a high priority that the system can be configuredto enter a low battery 13 mode to preserve the ability of the remotecomputing device 12 to send information (e.g., a pick-up time andlocation) to the vehicle management system 65 in the future. Forexample, without entering into the low battery 13 mode, the battery 13can run out of power much sooner (and therefore leave the user 1stranded without a way to summon a ride) than is the case with the lowbattery 13 mode. The system can be configured to exit the low battery 13mode once the user 1 needs to send a pick-up time and/or location to thevehicle management system 65.

Entering the low battery 13 mode at unnecessary times can be bothersometo the user 1 (because the low battery 13 mode can interfere with somefunctions of the remote computing device 12), so the system can beconfigured to enter the low battery 13 mode in response to specifictriggers intended to reduce the number of times the remote computingdevice 12 enters the low battery 13 mode unnecessarily.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 18, some embodiments comprisedetermining, by the remote computing device 12, that the first battery13 charge indication is below a first predetermined threshold (e.g., seeblock 191).

The remote computing device 12 can be configured to enter a low battery13 mode in response to determining that the first battery 13 chargeindication is below the first predetermined threshold (e.g., see block193). The remote computing device 12 can be configured to enter a lowbattery 13 mode in response to determining that the vehicle managementsystem 65 is in a pick-up expected mode (e.g., see block 194). Someembodiments comprise entering, by the remote computing device 12, a lowbattery 13 mode in response to determining that the first battery 13charge indication is below the first predetermined threshold and also inresponse to determining, by the remote computing device 12, that thevehicle management system 65 is in a pick-up expected mode.

The low battery 13 mode is configured to reduce the power consumption ofthe remote computing device 12. In several embodiments, entering the lowbattery 13 mode comprises disabling a radio-frequency signaltransmission system of the remote computing device 12. Disablingradio-frequency signal transmissions of the remote computing device 12can include turning off some or all of the systems in the remotecomputing device 12 that are configured to enable telephonecommunications, radio communications, Bluetooth communications, WiFicommunications, and/or other communications.

In several embodiments, entering the low battery 13 mode comprisesdisabling at least one feature of the remote computing device 12 toreduce power consumption of the remote computing device 12. Examplefeatures that can be affected, slowed, or disabled to reduce powerconsumption include downloads, email fetching, background “app”refreshing or updating, certain visual effects, screen brightness,screen sleep time, retrieving information from the remote computers suchas the Cloud, virtual assistant systems such as “Siri” created by AppleInc.

The pick-up expected mode is a mode in which the vehicle managementsystem 65 expects that the user 1 will need to be picked up within 12hours.

In several embodiments, the vehicle management system 65 is configuredto be in the pick-up expected mode from a first time when theself-driving vehicle 2 drops off the user 1 until a second time when theself-driving vehicle 2 picks up the user 1.

In several embodiments, the vehicle management system 65 is configuredto be in the pick-up expected mode from a first time when the vehiclemanagement system 65 drops off the user 1 (e.g., with a firstself-driving vehicle 2) until a second time when the vehicle managementsystem 65 picks up the user 1 (e.g., with the first self-driving vehicle2 or with a different self-driving vehicle 2).

In several embodiments, the pick-up expected mode comprises a mode inwhich at least one of the user 1 is located remotely relative to theself-driving vehicle 2 yet the self-driving vehicle 2 anticipatespicking up the user 1, the vehicle management system 65 is waiting foran instruction from the remote computing device 12 to pick up the user1, and a pick-up time selected by the user 1 is less than twelve hoursaway.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device 12,a pick-up time; sending, by the remote computing device 12, the pick-uptime to the vehicle management system 65; and exiting, by the remotecomputing device 12, the low battery 13 mode in response to receivingthe pick-up time.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device 12,a pick-up location; sending, by the remote computing device 12, thepick-up location to the vehicle management system 65; and exiting, bythe remote computing device 12, the low battery 13 mode in response toreceiving the pick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the remote computing device 12,at least one of a pick-up time and a pick-up location; sending, by theremote computing device 12, at least one of the pick-up time and thepick-up location to the vehicle management system 65; and exiting, bythe remote computing device 12, the low battery 13 mode in response tosending at least one of the pick-up time and the pick-up location.

Some embodiments comprise shutting down the remote computing device 12in response to determining, by the remote computing device 12, that asecond battery 13 charge indication is below a second predeterminedthreshold and in response to determining, by the remote computing device12, that the vehicle management system 65 is in the pick-up expectedmode. The second predetermined threshold can be lower than the firstpredetermined threshold.

In some embodiments, the system transfers control of the self-drivingvehicle 2 to another person 1 b. The person 1 b can be selected by theuser 1. Transferring control of the self-driving vehicle 2 can enablethe system to receive the instructions it needs to operate in the eventthat the system loses contact with the user 1. The second remotecomputing device 12 b of the person 1 b can be a back-up contact. Forexample, the remote computing device 12 and/or the vehicle managementsystem 65 can transfer control of the self-driving vehicle 2 to thesecond remote computing device 12 b.

At least one of the vehicle management system 65 and the remotecomputing device 12 can detect that a second remote computing device 12b is near the remote computing device 12 and can determine that thecontact information of the second remote computing device 12 b is in thecontact list of the remote computing device 12. The remote computingdevice 12 and/or the vehicle management system 65 can then ask the user1 (e.g., via an “app” running on the remote computing device 12) toselect a back-up contact, which can include the contact of the person 1b.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 19, some embodiments comprisedetermining, by the remote computing device 12, that the first battery13 charge indication is below a first predetermined threshold (e.g., seeblock 200); and prompting, by the remote computing device 12, the user 1to select a back-up contact in response to determining that the firstbattery 13 charge indication is below the first predetermined threshold(e.g., see block 201). Some embodiments comprise sending, by the remotecomputing device 12, the back-up contact selected by the user 1 to thevehicle management system 65 (e.g., see block 202).

Some embodiments comprise sending, by the vehicle management system 65,a wireless communication to the back-up contact in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system 65, that the vehiclemanagement system 65 is no longer able to communicate with the remotecomputing device 12 (e.g., see block 203). The wireless communicationcan comprise location information regarding the user 1. The wirelesscommunication can comprise previous locations of the user 1 and/or alast known location of the user 1. The wireless communication can beconfigured to prompt the back-up contact to take action to aid the user1. For example, the wireless communication can prompt the back-upcontact to try to contact the user 1, find the user 1, determine whenand where the user 1 might want to be picked up, etc. The wirelesscommunication can prompt the back-up contact to select a pick-up timeand pick-up location for the user 1. The wireless communication canprompt the back-up contact to select where the vehicle should go (e.g.,the back-up contact can instruct the vehicle to move to a waitinglocation, a home base, and/or to the user 1's home).

Some embodiments comprise granting control, by at least one of theremote computing device 12 and the vehicle management system 65, of theself-driving vehicle 2 to the back-up contact in response to receiving,by the remote computing device 12, the back-up contact from the user 1.In several embodiments, granting control enables the back-up contact tochoose a destination for the self-driving vehicle 2.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 20, some embodiments comprise grantingcontrol, by at least one of the remote computing device 12 and thevehicle management system 65, of the self-driving vehicle 2 to theback-up contact in response to receiving, by the remote computing device12, the back-up contact from the user 1 and also in response todetermining, by the vehicle management system 65, that the vehiclemanagement system 65 is no longer able to communicate with the remotecomputing device 12 (e.g., see block 204).

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the remote computing device12, that the first battery 13 charge indication is below a firstpredetermined threshold; determining, by the remote computing device 12,that a back-up contact is located within 50 yards of the user 1; andprompting, by the remote computing device 12, the user 1 to select theback-up contact to at least one of receive a notification regarding theself-driving vehicle 2 and control at least one movement of theself-driving vehicle 2. Prompting the user 1 can be in response todetermining that the first battery 13 charge indication is below thefirst predetermined threshold.

In some embodiments, the remote computing device 12 can determine that aback-up contact is within 50 yards by receiving a Bluetoothcommunication from the second remote computing device 12 b and/or bydetecting a mobile hotspot of the second remote computing device 12 b.

To reduce unnecessary redundancy, not every element or feature isdescribed in the context of every embodiment, but all elements andfeatures described in the context of any embodiment herein and/orincorporated by reference can be combined with any elements and/orfeatures described in the context of any other embodiments.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/205,013; filedNov. 29, 2018; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The vehicles 2, 2 a, 2 b described herein can include any of thefeatures of the vehicles described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/205,013.

The entire contents of the following application are incorporated byreference herein: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/099,565; filedApr. 14, 2016; and entitled SELF-DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEMS AND METHODS.

The vehicles 2, 2 a, 2 b described herein can include any of thefeatures of the vehicles described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/099,565.

Self-driving vehicles can include cars, vans, trucks, buses, scooters,motorcycles, helicopters, quadcopters, flying machines, air taxis,planes, and any motorized vehicle configured to transport a person.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 2 is configured to drive on a road. Thevehicle management system can comprise a vehicle guidance system 117.The vehicle guidance system 117 can comprise radar 118, lidar 119,ultrasonic sensors, cameras 111, and any other sensing devicesconfigured to enable the vehicle 2 to detect objects.

Some embodiments can be used with self-driving vehicles. Embodiments,however, are not limited to self-driving vehicles and can be used withnon-self-driving vehicles.

As used herein, “location” is used broadly and is not limited to astreet address. A location can be a Global Positioning System (“GPS”)location and can be any other location indicator. A location can be anoutdoor location. A location can be an indoor location (e.g., a locationinside a large shopping center, an apartment complex or other building).

Some embodiments use iBeacon hardware to enable tracking remotecomputing devices indoors. iBeacon is a protocol developed by Apple Inc.Several embodiments use radio transceivers (such as Bluetoothtransceivers) to enable tracking remote computing devices indoors.

Some embodiments use Global Positioning System (“GPS”) hardware todetermine an outdoor location of a remote computing device and/or of avehicle. GPS can include the system of satellites put into orbit andmaintained by the U.S. Department of Defense, Russia's GLONASS satellitesystem, assisted GPS systems, and/or any satellite system used toprovide location data.

In some embodiments, each system comprises at least one processor and amemory comprising program instructions that when executed by the atleast one processor cause the system to perform any of the stepsdescribed herein and/or incorporated by reference.

A self-driving vehicle 2 can include a vehicle guidance system 117configured to detect objects (e.g., cars, pedestrians, other vehicles,buildings, fire hydrants, trees, lane markers, guard rails, roadwaybarriers, sidewalks, roadway signs, traffic lights) located around theself-driving vehicle 2. Various sensors of the vehicle guidance system117 can sense objects even closer than an inch away (e.g., by usingultrasonic sensors) and even farther away than 100 yards (e.g., usinglong-range radar).

FIG. 21 illustrates a perspective view of the top side, the front sideand the passenger side of the vehicle guidance system 117 coupled to thevehicle 2. FIG. 22 illustrates a perspective view of the top side, thebackside side and the driver side of the vehicle guidance system 117coupled to the vehicle 2.

The vehicle guidance system 117 can comprise radar 118, lidar 119,ultrasonic sensors, cameras 111, and any other sensing devicesconfigured to enable the vehicle 2 to detect objects.

The self-driving vehicle 2 can comprise a vehicle guidance system 117mounted to the roof of the self-driving vehicle 2. In some embodiments,however, the components of the vehicle guidance system 117 are mountedon different areas of the self-driving vehicle 2. For example, theultrasonic sensors can be mounted on the bumpers of the self-drivingvehicle 2. The short range of the ultrasonic sensors can make bumpermounting helpful (because the bumper is often closer to the objectsbeing sensed). The cameras 111 can be mounted just behind the windshield(e.g., in the rearview mirror) and just behind other windows. The radars118 can be mounted near each of the four corners of the self-drivingvehicle 2. In the illustrated embodiment, however, the vehicle guidancesystem 117 can be contained in one assembly to simplify the integrationof the vehicle guidance system 117 into a vehicle.

The vehicle guidance system 117 can use cameras 111 mounted around aperimeter (e.g., around a perimeter of the vehicle 2 or around aperimeter of a housing of the vehicle guidance system 117). Asillustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22, cameras 111 face forward, backward,left, and right to provide (collectively) a 360 degree view around thevehicle 2. The cameras 111 can be high-resolution cameras covered by aglass window to protect each cameras 111 from water and dirt.

Cameras 111 can be configured to see lane markers on a road. Usingcameras 111 to see painted lane markers can be helpful (because paintedlane markers sometimes lack enough three-dimensional nature to bedetected by some other sensors). In addition, cameras 111 can see colordifferences (e.g., the difference between the color of the asphalt andthe color of yellow or white paint of a lane marker). Cameras 111 cansee the color of traffic lights (e.g., red, yellow, green).

Cameras 111 sometimes have trouble seeing in situations where the humaneye would have trouble seeing (e.g., in fog or rain).

Radars 118 can be very helpful in fog and rain. An object that is notdetected by cameras 111 (e.g., due to fog or rain) can be detected byradar 118. Radars 118 can detect the speed of other vehicles and thedistance to other vehicles. Radars 118 can also detect objects that arefar away.

Radar is an object-detection system that uses radio waves to determinethe range, angle, or velocity of objects. A radar can comprise atransmitter producing electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwavedomain, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna (which can be thesame antenna as the transmitting antenna), a receiver, and/or aprocessor to determine properties of the objects detected by the radar.

Lidar uses light to detect objects. A lidar 119 can be located on thetop portion of the vehicle guidance system 117 to provide a 360 degreeview of the area around the self-driving vehicle 2. The lidar 119 cantell the difference between an actual person and a billboard thatincludes a picture of a person (due to the three-dimensional nature ofthe actual person and the two dimensional nature of the picture of aperson).

The lidar 119 can accurately sense the three-dimensional nature of theworld around the self-driving vehicle 2. The lidar 119 can also measurethe distance to objects. Measuring distance can enable the self-drivingvehicle 2 to know, for example, if an approaching car is 5 meters away(so there is not enough time to turn in front of the car) or 25 metersaway (so there may be enough time to turn in front of the car).

In some embodiments, the lidar 119 is a Velodyne VLS-128 made byVelodyne LiDAR, Inc. having an office in San Jose, Calif. The VelodyneVLS-128 can provide real-time, three-dimensional data with up to 0.1degree vertical and horizontal resolution, a range of up to 300 meters,and a 360-degree surround view. The VLS-128 can provide the range,resolution and accuracy required by some of the most advanced autonomousvehicle programs in the world.

Many types of lidars can be used. Some embodiments use “incoherent” ordirect energy detection (which principally measures amplitude changes ofthe reflected light). Some embodiments use coherent detection (which insome cases can be well suited for measuring Doppler shifts, or changesin phase of the reflected light). Coherent systems can use opticalheterodyne detection.

Lidar can use pulse models. Some lidar embodiments use micropulse orhigh energy. Micropulse systems can use intermittent bursts of energy.Some lidar embodiments use high-power systems.

Lidar can comprise lasers. Some embodiments include solid-state lasers.Some embodiments include flash lidar. Some embodiments includeelectromechanical lidar. Some embodiments include phased arrays toilluminate any direction by using a microscopic array of individualantennas. Some embodiments include mirrors (e.g., microelectromechanical mirrors). Some embodiments include dual oscillatingplane mirrors, a polygon mirror and/or a scanner (e.g., a dual-axisscanner).

Lidar embodiments can include photodetector and receiver electronics.Any suitable type of photodetector can be used. Some embodiments includesolid-state photodetectors (e.g., silicon avalanche photodiodes) and/orphotomultipliers.

The motion of the vehicle 2 can be compensated for to accuratelydetermine the location, speed, and direction of objects (such as othervehicles) located outside the vehicle 2. For example, if a first vehicle2 is heading west at 35 miles per hour and a second vehicle is headingeast at an unknown speed, a vehicle guidance system 117 of the firstvehicle 2 can remove the contribution of the 35 miles per hour whendetermining the speed of the second vehicle.

In some embodiments, motion of the vehicle 2 is compensated for by usingposition and navigation systems to determine the absolute position,speed, and orientation of the lidar, camera, radar, or other objectsensing system. A Global Positioning System (“GPS”) receiver and/or anInertial Measurement Unit (“IMU”) can be used to determine the absoluteposition and orientation of the object sensing system.

Lidar can use active sensors that supply their own illumination source.The energy can hit objects. The reflected energy can be detected andmeasured by sensors. Distance to the object can be determined byrecording the time between transmitted and backscattered pulses and byusing the speed of light to calculate the distance traveled. Scanningcan be used to create a three-dimensional image or map of the areaaround the vehicle 2.

Embodiments can use a short-range lidar to give the self-driving vehicle2 a surround view near the self-driving vehicle 2 (to see objects closeto the self-driving vehicle 2) and can use a long-range lidar configuredto not only detect objects located far from the self-driving vehicle 2,but also to enable zooming into objects that are over 200 meters away.The long-range lidar can be very helpful at high-speed highwaysituations.

Lidar uses light to detect a distance to an object, a direction to theobject, and/or a location of an object. Lidar can use pulsed laser lightemitted by a laser.

The light can reflect off objects around the vehicle 2. Thesereflections can be detected by a sensor of the lidar. Measuring how longthe light takes to return to the sensor and measuring the wavelengths ofthe reflected light can enable making a three-dimensional model of theobject being sensed and of the entire area around the vehicle 2.

The self-driving vehicle 2 can include a vehicle navigation system, acommunication system that has a transmitter and a receiver, a computersystem that has a processor, a memory that has program instructions andmap information, a traffic monitor, and a drive-by-wire system. In someembodiments, at least some of these items are part of the vehicleguidance system 117.

A vehicle navigation system can be configured to enable the vehicle 2 tofollow a driving route. The vehicle navigation system can direct thevehicle toward a pick-up location, a drop-off location, and/or anotherlocation.

A communication system can be configured to communicate with a vehiclemanagement system. The communication system can be configured tocommunicate with a remote computing device of a rider. The communicationsystem can use an antenna to communicate with other vehicles and otherdevices via intermediary communication systems.

Intermediary communication systems can comprise wireless networks, Wi-Firouters, Bluetooth systems, cellular networks, telephone networks,Internet systems, servers, cloud computing, remotely located computers,satellite systems, communication systems, and any other suitable meansof enabling communication between the various components of embodimentsdescribed herein and/or incorporated by reference.

A vehicle management system can be communicatively coupled with a remotecomputing device of a rider via intermediary communication systems.Intermediary communication systems can enable communicative couplingover large distances.

In some embodiments, intermediary communication systems enable a vehiclemanagement system to be communicatively coupled with a remote computingdevice of a rider even though the rider has already been dropped off,and the rider is located miles away from the vehicle that dropped offthe rider. A vehicle can drop the rider off in front of a store, therider can walk through the store while the vehicle provides rides toother people, and then the vehicle can return to the front of the storeto pick up the rider.

As used herein, a person can be a “rider” even when the person is notlocated in the vehicle. A person can be a rider when the person iswalking under her own power (and is not being transported by anythingother than her own legs). As used herein, “rider” can be a title for aperson who is being transported by a vehicle, was transported by thevehicle, was dropped off by a vehicle, and/or will be picked up by avehicle. In some embodiments, a rider is dropped off by a first vehicleand then the rider gets a ride from a second vehicle. In someembodiments, a rider is dropped off by a first vehicle and then therider uses a bicycle or skateboard to follow a walking route.

The vehicle 2 can comprise a drive-by-wire system. The drive-by-wiresystem can be a computer-regulated system for controlling the engine,accelerating, braking, steering, signaling, handling, suspension, and/orother functions related to autonomously driving the vehicle 2.

Receiving radio communications (with position data) from three or moreGPS satellites can provide data to enable each vehicle and each remotecomputing device to calculate its own position.

Each device can receive radio signals broadcasted from GPS satellites.Then, the device can calculate how far it is away from the broadcastingsatellite by determining how long the radio signal (traveling atlightspeed) took to arrive at the device. Trilateration (based on datafrom at least three GPS satellites) enables the device to know where itis located. The device can then send its location to the vehiclemanagement system. A location tracking system can receive the locationdata from the vehicle management system, from the device, and/or fromany other system.

Communicative coupling may be via continuous communications orintermittent communications. Intermittent communications can be viaperiodic communications (e.g., every 1 second, every 60 seconds, every10 minutes). As used herein, “periodically” does not imply that everyperiod has the same duration. In some embodiments, the communicativecoupling is via intermediary communication systems 15.

A remote computing device can be a smartphone, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, a server, augmented realityglasses, an implanted computer, and/or any type of computer. A rider canbring her remote computing device into the self-driving vehicle, use herremote computing device in the self-driving vehicle, and leave theself-driving vehicle with her remote computing device. In someembodiments, the rider requests a ride at her home with a remotecomputing device, but then leaves the remote computing device at homewhen she goes to get a ride from the self-driving vehicle.

In some embodiments, a remote computing device comprises anaccelerometer, a barometer (which can include an altimeter), agyroscope, a WiFi tracker, a compass, a location tracking system, amemory, a computer system having a processor, a database and/or acommunication system. The communication system can include atransmitter, a receiver, and/or an antenna. The remote computing devicecan comprise a display screen configured to display images to a rider.The remote computing device can comprise a speaker configured to emitsounds to the rider. The remote computing device can comprise amicrophone configured to record sounds from the rider.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 23, a person (i.e., a rider) can enter(and/or ride on) a first self-driving vehicle 2 a or a secondself-driving vehicle 2 b. Whichever vehicle the rider enters cantransport the rider to a drop-off location 50. At the drop-off location,the rider can exit the vehicle that transported the rider. Then, therider can follow a walking route 95. As the rider moves along thewalking route 95 (while carrying the remote computing device 12), thevehicle management system can receive location data regarding one ormore locations 51 q, 51 r, 51 s, 51 t, 51 u along the walking route 95.(In order for the walking route 95 to fit on FIGS. 23 and 24, thewalking route 95 is not drawn to scale in FIGS. 23 and 24, and may beany length. In some embodiments, the walking route 95 is several miles.)

If the remote computing device 12 stops working (e.g., has a deadbattery and/or is broken), the vehicle management system may stopreceiving location data indicative of where the remote computing device12 and thus the rider carrying the remote computing device 12 arelocated.

Location 51 u is the last known location of the remote computing device12. (The location 51 u can be ascertained via GPS data and can be sentto the vehicle management system via intermediary communicationsystems). After arriving at the location 51 u, the rider could havecontinued walking to an unknown location (as illustrated by the remotecomputing device 12 in FIG. 24). As a result, the vehicle managementsystem does not know where to pick up the rider and the rider is unableto use the remote computing device 12 to request a ride home (e.g., viaan “app” running on the rider's remote computing device 12). Thus, therider could be stranded without a ride home.

In some embodiments, in response to being notified that the remotecomputing device 12 is not wirelessly communicating, the vehiclemanagement system may instruct the first self-driving vehicle 2 a and/orthe second self-driving vehicle 2 b to drive to the drop-off location 50to attempt to pick up the rider.

In some embodiments, an administrative service such as Apple Inc.,T-Mobile USA Inc., and AT&T Inc. notifies the vehicle management systemthat the remote computing device 12 is not communicating, iscommunicatively uncoupled, is turned off, has a dead battery, isnon-responsive, etc., which enables the vehicle management system toenter an emergency rendezvous mode in which the vehicle managementsystem is configured to predict an appropriate pick-up location for therider.

The administrative service can be a telecommunications service provider.The administrative service can be an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”).An Internet Service Provider provides services for accessing theInternet.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system(e.g., from an administrative service), a notification that the remotecomputing device is not currently able to send communications and/or isnot currently able to receive communications. Some embodiments compriseprompting, by the vehicle management system, the first self-drivingvehicle to drive to a first area within a predetermined distance of thedrop-off location to pick up the rider in response to receiving thenotification.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system determines that theremote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system in response to the vehicle management systemreceiving (e.g., from an administrative service) a notification that theremote computing device is not currently able to send communicationsand/or not currently able to receive communications.

Even though the drop-off location 50 is located far away from the lastknown location 51 u, the vehicle management system may attempt to pickup the rider at the drop-off location 50 because the drop-off location50 may be known to both the rider and the vehicle management system.Thus, the drop-off location 50 can be an emergency rendezvous locationin the event that the vehicle management system is unable to detect alocation of the remote computing device 12 and/or the rider is unable touse her remote computing device 12 to notify the vehicle managementsystem where to pick her up.

Using the drop-off location 50 as an emergency rendezvous location ishelpful in some cases. In some cases, however, determining a pick-uptime is necessary. Otherwise, the vehicle management system may prompt afirst self-driving vehicle 2 a to wait at the drop-off location 50 forhours without the rider ever arriving. Some embodiments use a previouslyscheduled pick-up time for the emergency rendezvous location (e.g., thedrop-off location 50) even though the previously scheduled pick-up timewas originally intended for a different location.

Some embodiments use more complex methods to determine a pick-up timefor the emergency rendezvous location (e.g., the drop-off location 50).Some of these embodiments are explained in the context of otherembodiments.

A self-driving vehicle fleet can comprise one vehicle, two vehicles,several vehicles, one-hundred vehicles, thousands of vehicles, and/orany number of vehicles.

FIG. 24 illustrates that the remote computing device 12 is in an unknownlocation (e.g., because the remote computing device 12 is notcommunicatively coupled with a location tracking system 30).

In response to the remote computing device 12 being communicativelyuncoupled from the vehicle management system, the vehicle managementsystem can prompt a self-driving vehicle 5 a to drive to the drop-offlocation 50 to pick up the rider (as indicated by arrow 68) rather thandrive toward the remote computing device 12 of the rider and rather thandrive to a last known location 51 u of the rider.

The first self-driving vehicle 2 a and the second self-driving vehicle 2b can include any of the features described herein and/or incorporatedby reference in the context of vehicles 2, 5, 5 a, 5 b, 5 c and/ordescribed herein and/or incorporated by reference in the context ofother vehicles.

The first self-driving vehicle 2 a can comprise a vehicle guidancesystem 117 a. The vehicle guidance system 117 a can comprise radar 118,lidar 119, ultrasonic sensors, cameras 111, and any other sensingdevices configured to enable the vehicle 2 a to detect objects andlocations. The vehicle guidance system 117 a can include any of thefeatures described herein and/or incorporated by reference in thecontext of vehicle guidance system 117 and other vehicle guidancesystems, detection system 7 (described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/205,013), radar systems, lidar systems, camera systems, detectionsystems, and sensing devices.

The second self-driving vehicle 2 b can comprise a vehicle guidancesystem 117 b, which can include any of the features of vehicle guidancesystem 117 a.

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a time after the rider wasdropped off at the drop-off location 50. The rider walked along a route95 from the drop-off location 50 to a last known location 51 u. Locationdata can comprise one or more locations 51 q, 51 r, 51 s, 51 t, 51 ualong the walking route 95. The locations 51 q, 51 r, 51 s, 51 t, 51 ucan be calculated by the remote computing device 12 based oncommunications 57 d, 58 d received (by the remote computing device 12)from positioning systems 53, 54. Some positioning systems 53 include GPSsatellites. Some positioning systems 54 include indoor positioningsystems.

In some cases, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a transports the riderto the drop-off location 50 and the second self-driving vehicle 2 bpicks up the rider. A self-driving vehicle fleet can comprise onevehicle, two vehicles, three vehicles or more vehicles. In someembodiments, a self-driving vehicle fleet comprises hundreds or eventhousands of vehicles. The vehicles can coordinate to provide efficienttransportation to the rider (and/or to many riders).

The first self-driving vehicle 2 a can receive communications (e.g.,radio signals) from positioning systems 53 (which in some embodimentsare GPS satellites). The second self-driving vehicle 2 b can receivecommunications (e.g., radio signals) from positioning systems 53 (whichin some embodiments are GPS satellites).

Positioning systems 53 (e.g., GPS satellites) can send communications 57a, 57 b, 57 c (e.g., radio signals) to the first self-driving vehicle 2a. The first self-driving vehicle 2 a can use these communications 57 a,57 b, 57 c to determine positions of the first self-driving vehicle 2 aat various times (e.g., when the first self-driving vehicle 2 a dropsoff the rider at the drop-off location 50).

The first self-driving vehicle 2 a can send communications 59 (which caninclude GPS coordinates of the first self-driving vehicle 2 a) to anantenna 42 via intermediary communication systems 15 a. Intermediarycommunication systems 15 a can send communications 60 (which can includeGPS coordinates of the first self-driving vehicle 2 a) to the antenna42. (Intermediary communication systems 15 a, 15 b can include all ofthe features and systems described in the context of intermediarycommunication systems 15.)

Receiving radio communications (with position data) from three or moreGPS satellites can provide data to enable each vehicle 2 a, 2 b and eachremote computing device 12 to calculate its own position. Then eachvehicle 2 a, 2 b and each remote computing device 12 can send itsposition data to a vehicle management system (e.g., via intermediarycommunication systems 15 a, 15 b).

The location tracking system 30 can receive GPS location data of thevehicles 2 a, 2 b by the vehicles 2 a, 2 b sending their GPS locationdata to the location tracking system 30 via intermediary communicationsystems 15 a, 15 b.

The vehicles 2 a, 2 b can received radio communicates from GPSsatellites. These radio communications can include informationconfigured to enable the vehicles 2 a, 2 b to calculate their positionat any time (including when the vehicle 2 a drops off the rider suchthat the vehicle 2 a knows the drop-off location 50 and can send thedrop-off location 50 to the vehicle management system via the antenna42).

Each device can receive radio signals broadcasted from GPS satellites.Then, the device can calculate how far it is away from the broadcastingsatellite by determining how long the radio signal (traveling atlightspeed) took to arrive at the device. Trilateration (based on datafrom at least three GPS satellites) enables the device to know where itis located. The device can then send its location to the vehiclemanagement system. A location tracking system 30 can receive thelocation data from the vehicle management system, from the device,and/or from any other system.

The location tracking system 30 can comprise a computer configured toreceive locations of vehicles and remote computing devices. The locationtracking system 30 can comprise a processor 35 and a memory 31comprising program instructions 32 configured such that (when executedby the processor 35) the program instructions 32 cause the locationtracking system 30 to monitor locations of vehicles 2 a, 2 b and remotecomputing devices 12.

In some cases, a rider uses a remote computing device 12 to request aride from the vehicle management system. Then, the vehicle managementsystem prompts a self-driving vehicle (e.g., a first self-drivingvehicle 5 a or a second self-driving vehicle 2 b) to drive to a pick-uplocation selected by the rider (e.g., via an “app” on the remotecomputing device 12). The pick-up location can be located far away fromthe drop-off location 50.

Some embodiments predict whether the rider needs a ride, predict whenthe rider needs a ride and/or predict where the rider needs a ride usinglocation data. Thus, some embodiments described herein and/orincorporated by reference dramatically increase the convenience of usinga self-driving vehicle fleet for transportation.

The first self-driving vehicle 2 a can send communications 59 (which caninclude GPS coordinates of the first self-driving vehicle 2 a) to anantenna 42 via intermediary communication systems 15 a. Intermediarycommunication systems 15 a can send communications 60 (which can includeGPS coordinates of the first self-driving vehicle 2 a) to the antenna42. The communications 59 can comprise GPS coordinates of the drop-offlocation 50.

The second self-driving vehicle 2 b can send communications 62 (whichcan include GPS coordinates of the second self-driving vehicle 2 b) toan antenna 42 via intermediary communication systems 15 b. Intermediarycommunication systems 15 b can send communications 61 (which can includeGPS coordinates of the second self-driving vehicle 2 b) to the antenna42.

In some embodiments, a vehicle management system comprises aself-driving vehicle fleet having at least one of a first self-drivingvehicle 2 a and a second self-driving vehicle 2 b. The self-drivingvehicle fleet can be configured to transport a rider.

In some embodiments, a vehicle management system comprises mapinformation 37, a traffic monitor 38, a database 33 (which can include arider profile, rider preferences, location information, preferredpick-up location data, preferred drop-off location data, etc.), and acommunication system 39 (which can comprise a transmitter 40, a receiver41, and an antenna 42).

In some embodiments, a vehicle management system comprises a computersystem 34 having at least one computer. The computer system 34 can beconfigured to be communicatively coupled (e.g., one-time,intermittently, continuously) with a remote computing device 12 of therider. The computer system 34 can be configured to be communicativelycoupled (e.g., one-time, intermittently, continuously) with at least oneof the first self-driving vehicle 2 a and the second self-drivingvehicle 2 b.

In some embodiments, a vehicle management system comprises a locationtracking system 30 communicatively coupled (e.g., one-time,intermittently, continuously) with the computer system 34 and configuredto receive a first location data indicative of a drop-off location 50where the self-driving vehicle fleet dropped off the rider.

The first location data can include many different types of locationdata. Location data can include a GPS location, a street address, alocation described by any type of positioning system, and/or any otherdata that is configured to indicate a location. In some embodiments, aGPS location is indicated by two numbers such as 47.606286, −122.341911.Location data can comprise other types of location indicators.

Some embodiments use Assisted GPS, which is a type of GPS. Assisted GPScan draw information from local cell towers and can enhance theperformance of standard GPS.

Indoor positioning systems can enable the remote computing device 12(and/or the vehicle management system) to determine a location of theremote computing device 12 inside a building (e.g., using radio waves,lights, magnetic fields, acoustic signals, or other sensory informationsent from the indoor positioning systems). Determining a distance fromthe remote computing device 12 to anchor nodes (e.g., nodes with knownpositions) can enable the system to determine a precise location of theremote computing device 12. The method can use the same principles asare used in GPS location determinations (e.g., trilateration). Nodes canbe WiFi access points, LiFi access points, Bluetooth beacons, and anyother nodes configured to enable a remote computing device 12 tocalculate the position of the remote computing device 12.

Some indoor positioning systems use iBeacon. iBeacon was developed byApple Inc. iBeacon can use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices thatbroadcast their identifier (and other information) to nearby remotecomputing devices 12.

Some positioning systems use telecommunication systems to determine aposition of a remote computing device 12 and/or to determine a locationof a self-driving vehicle 2 a, 2 b. In some embodiments, positioningsystems using telecommunication systems use Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”)protocols. LTE is one of several standards for high-speed wirelesscommunication for mobile devices and data terminals. LTE can be based onGSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA technologies.

Some positioning systems that use telecommunication systems are based onthe LTE Positioning Protocol (“LPP”). Some positioning systems that usetelecommunication systems are based on the LTE Positioning ProtocolAnnex (“LPPa”).

Some embodiments use Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (“OTDOA”).OTDOA is a positioning feature. OTDOA was introduced in rel9 E-UTRA (LTEradio). In OTDOA, the remote computing device 12 measures the timedifference between signals from several E-UTRAN Node Bs. Then, theremote computing device 12 reports these time differences to a specificdevice in the network (e.g., the Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center,which can be abbreviated as “ESMLC”). Based on these time differencesand knowledge of the E-UTRAN Node B locations, the device (e.g., theESMLC) can calculate the position of the remote computing device 12.

WiFi trackers 77 can analyze WiFi signals (e.g., from several WiFiemitters) to determine if a remote computing device 12 is moving. As theremote computing device 12 moves toward a first WiFi source, the signalwill get stronger. As the remote computing device 12 moves away from asecond WiFi source, the signal will get weaker. This signal analysis canenable the WiFi tracker 77 to determine if the remote computing device12 is moving.

In some embodiments, the location tracking system 30 is configured toreceive a location data indicative of at least one location 51 q, 51 r,51 s, 51 t, 51 u of the remote computing device 12 during at least aportion of a period from after when the self-driving vehicle fleet dropsoff the rider to before when the self-driving vehicle fleet picks up therider. The at least one location 51 q, 51 r, 51 s, 51 t, 51 u cancomprise indoor locations and/or outdoor locations. The route 95 walkedby the rider can move through a building (where indoor locations can behelpful) and can move through outdoor locations (e.g., through a parkinglot, through a nature preserve, and/or along a street). In someembodiments, the rider 12 moves along the walking route 95 by running orby taking wheeled transportation.

Some embodiments comprise using a vehicle management system thatincludes a self-driving vehicle fleet. The fleet can comprise at leastone of a first self-driving vehicle 2 a and a second self-drivingvehicle 2 b. Embodiments can comprise coupling communicatively thevehicle management system to a remote computing device 12 of a rider.The remote computing device 12 can be configured to operate softwareadapted to enable the rider to select a pick-up location (e.g., via an“app”). The rider can launch an “app.” The “app” can present an optionfor the rider to select a pick-up location and a pick-up time. In somecases, however, the user will not select a pick-up time and/or a pick-uplocation, and the vehicle management system can take steps to preventthe rider from being stranded without a ride.

Some embodiments comprise dropping off, by a vehicle of the self-drivingvehicle fleet, the rider at a drop-off location 50 (shown in FIGS. 23and 24). Dropping off the rider can include stopping a vehicle such thatthe rider exits the vehicle.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the remote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupledto the vehicle management system; and/or prompting, by the vehiclemanagement system, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to afirst area 67 within a predetermined distance of the drop-off location50 to pick up the rider in response to determining that the remotecomputing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system. In some embodiments, the predetermined distance is100 feet. In some embodiments, the predetermined distance is 250 feet.In some embodiments, the predetermined distance is 500 feet. Embodimentscan comprise picking up, by the first self-driving vehicle 2 a, therider in the first area 67 in response to the prompting.

Some embodiments comprise instructing, by at least one of the vehiclemanagement system and the remote computing device 12, the self-drivingvehicle to pick up the rider at a first pick-up time selected inresponse to a prompting.

Embodiments can comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the remote computing device 12 is no longer communicatively coupledto the vehicle management system in response to determining that thevehicle management system has not received a first wirelesscommunication from the remote computing device 12 for a predeterminedamount of time. The predetermined amount of time can be greater thanthirty seconds and less than sixty minutes.

After prompting the first self-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to a firstarea 67, some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the rider is not located in the first area 67within 250 feet of the drop-off location 50; instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a to move away fromthe first area 67 in response to determining that the rider is notlocated in the first area 67; and/or instructing at least a firstportion of the self-driving vehicle fleet to return to the first area 67after a first period of time to attempt to pick up the rider. The firstportion can comprise the first self-driving vehicle 2 a. The firstportion can comprise the second self-driving vehicle 2 b. In otherwords, either the first self-driving vehicle 2 a or the secondself-driving vehicle 2 b can be the portion of the fleet that returns tothe first area 67.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the rider is not located in the first area 67 within 250 feet ofthe drop-off location 50 after the first period of time; instructing, bythe vehicle management system, the first portion of the self-drivingvehicle fleet to move away from the first area 67; and/or instructing,by the vehicle management system, at least a second portion of theself-driving vehicle fleet to return to the first area 67 after a secondperiod of time that is greater than the first period of time to attemptto pick up the rider. The second portion can comprise the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a. The second portion can comprise the secondself-driving vehicle 2 b.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the rider is not located in the first area 67 within 250 feet ofthe drop-off location 50 after the second period of time; instructing,by the vehicle management system, at least the second portion of theself-driving vehicle fleet to move away from the first area 67; and/orinstructing, by the vehicle management system, at least a third portionof the self-driving vehicle fleet to return to the first area 67 after athird period of time that is greater than the second period of time toattempt to pick up the rider. The third portion can comprise the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a. The third portion can comprise the secondself-driving vehicle 2 b.

After prompting the first self-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to the firstarea 67, some embodiments comprise determining, by the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a, that the rider is not located in the firstarea 67 within 250 feet of the drop-off location 50; and/or in responseto determining that the rider is not located in the first area 67,prompting, by the vehicle management system, the first self-drivingvehicle 2 a to move to a parking location that is located outside of thefirst area 67. Moving to the parking location can be finding a locationto “park” such that the vehicle is not moving. The parking location canbe a parking garage, a parking spot, etc.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system knows where the rideris located by tracking a location of the rider's remote computing device12. However, when the remote computing device 12 is not communicatingwith the vehicle management system, the vehicle management system maynot know the location of the rider. Some embodiments address thisprogram by using an image analysis system 69 to visually recognize ifthe rider is present (e.g., in the area 67).

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system comprises an imageanalysis system 69 having program instructions configured to analyzeimages. The first self-driving vehicle 2 a comprises a camera 111 (shownin FIG. 21) configured to take the images of places located outside thefirst self-driving vehicle 2 a. For example, the first self-drivingvehicle 2 a can include cameras 111 pointing all around the vehicle 2 asuch that the vehicle guidance system 117 can take pictures 360 degreesaround the vehicle to “see” if the rider is located within sight of thevehicle 2 a.

Some embodiments comprise taking a picture, by the camera 111 of thefirst self-driving vehicle 2 a, of at least a portion of the first area67. For example, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a can drive to thearea 67 and then can take a picture with the camera 111 to enable theimage analysis system 69 to determine if the rider is shown in thepicture. If the rider is not present in the one or more pictures, thenthe vehicle management system can assume the rider is not located in thearea.

Some embodiments comprise determining, by the vehicle management system,that the rider is not located in the first area 67 by using the imageanalysis system 69 to analyze the picture (e.g., to determine that therider is not shown in the picture); and instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a to move away(e.g., drive away) from the first area 67 in response to determiningthat the rider is not located in the first area 67.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system terminates theemergency rendezvous mode in response to communication with the remotecomputing device 12 being restored. In some cases, if communication isrestored, the emergency rendezvous mode is not necessary because therider can use an “app” on her remote computing device 12 to request aride (and specify a pick-up time and pick-up location). In someembodiments, the vehicle management system ceases trying to pick-up therider in response to communication with the remote computing device 12being restored.

After determining that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system and promptingthe first self-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to the first area 67, someembodiments comprise: determining, by the vehicle management system,that communicative coupling between the vehicle management system andthe remote computing device 12 has been restored; and in response todetermining that the communicative coupling has been restored,prompting, by the vehicle management system, the first self-drivingvehicle 2 a to move away (e.g., drive away) from the first area 67.

Some embodiments comprise sending a second wireless communication fromthe vehicle management system to the remote computing device 12 inresponse to determining that the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system. The secondwireless communication can be configured to elicit a reply wirelesscommunication from the remote computing device 12 to the vehiclemanagement system after the remote computing device 12 regains wirelesscommunication abilities. Some embodiments later comprise prompting, bythe vehicle management system, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a tomove away (e.g., drive away) from the first area 67 in response toreceiving, by the vehicle management system, the reply wirelesscommunication.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system predicts a pick-uptime. The predicted pick-up time can be used in conjunction with thepredicted pick-up location.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system comprises a memoryhaving data regarding lengths of time between past drop-off times andpast pick-up times associated with at least a portion of a second areawithin one mile of the drop-off location 50. For example, a firstprevious rider may be been dropped off within 500 feet of the drop-offlocation at 10:00 AM and picked up at 11:15 AM for a length of time of1.25 hours. A second previous rider may be been dropped off within 250feet of the drop-off location at 8:00 AM and picked up at 9:45 AM for alength of time of 1.75 hours. Both of the drop-off locations were withinone mile of the drop-off location 50.

Some embodiments comprise selecting, by the vehicle management system atleast partially based on the data regarding the lengths of time, a firstpick-up time, and later prompting, by the vehicle management system, thefirst self-driving vehicle 2 a to pick up the rider at the first pick-uptime.

The vehicle management system can select the pick-up time for the riderwith an unknown location at least partially based on data regarding thelengths of time associated with the first previous rider (time=1.25hours) and the second previous rider (time=1.75 hours) by choosing apick-up time 1.25 hours after the drop-off time of the rider with theunknown location, by choosing a pick-up time 1.75 hours after thedrop-off time of the rider with the unknown location, by choosing apick-up time 1.50 hours after the drop-off time of the rider with theunknown location (due to an average of 1.25 hours and 1.75 hoursequaling 1.5 hours).

Of course, there are many ways in which the vehicle management systemcan select the first pick-up time for the rider with an unknown locationbased on previous lengths of time from other riders. As used in thecontext of this embodiment, “based on” means that the lengths of timebetween past drop-off times and past pick-up times associated with atleast a portion of a second area within one mile of the drop-offlocation 50 are taken into account to select the first pick-up time(even though other factors such as time of day, a rider profile, riderpreferences, the last known location 51 u, etc. may also be taken intoaccount).

In some embodiments, the lengths of time between past drop-off times ofthe rider with the unknown location and past pick-up times of the riderwith the unknown location are used to predict when the rider will wantto be picked up this time. This data can be particularly helpful becausethe data is based on behavior of the rider with the unknown location(rather than being based on data from other riders).

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system comprises a memoryhaving data regarding lengths of time between past drop-off times of therider and past pick-up times of the rider. Embodiments can compriseselecting, by the vehicle management system at least partially based onthe data regarding the lengths of time, a first pick-up time, and laterprompting, by the vehicle management system, the first self-drivingvehicle 2 a to pick up the rider at the first pick-up time.

In some embodiments, the vehicle management system comprises a memoryhaving data regarding lengths of time between past drop-off times of therider and past pick-up times of the rider associated with at least aportion of a second area within 500 feet of the drop-off location 50.Embodiments can comprise selecting, by the vehicle management system atleast partially based on the data regarding the lengths of time, a firstpick-up time, and later prompting, by the vehicle management system, thefirst self-driving vehicle 2 a to pick up the rider at the first pick-uptime.

Even if the current location of the rider is unknown, the memory 31 ofthe vehicle management system may contain other location information(e.g., locations 51 q, 51 r, 51 s, 51 t, 51 u) for the rider from aperiod of time from after when the self-driving vehicle fleet drops offthe rider to before the vehicle management system stopped receivinglocation data for the remote computing device 12 of the rider. Thisother location information can be used to predict a suitable pick-uptime for the rider. For example, if the last known location 51 u is twomiles away from the drop-off location 50 and the other locations 51 q,51 r, 51 s, 51 t (and their timestamps) indicate that the rider iswalking at a rate of one mile per twenty minutes, then the pick-up timelikely is not for at least forty minutes. Waiting forty minutes toattempt to pick up the rider at the drop-off location 50 can avoidwasting the vehicle's time. For example, the vehicle 2 a could provide arider to another person during the forty minutes.

Receiving the last known location 51 u can enable the vehicle managementsystem to know lengths of time that are typical for that particularlocation. For example, if the last known location 51 u (which can be aGPS location) is inside a movie theater and the average movie is twohours long, then the vehicle management system can predict that therider will exit the theater approximately two hours from when sheentered the theater. This information can help the vehicle managementsystem accurately predict a suitable pick-up time for the rider eventhough the rider's remote computing device is not communicating with thevehicle management system. This approach is particularly helpful forareas with many attendees (e.g., movie theaters, professional sportingevents) because this approach can enable the vehicle management systemto have a sufficient number of vehicles ready to provide rides when theevent is over.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system, afirst GPS location data (e.g., location 51 u) indicative of at least onelocation of the remote computing device 12 of the rider during a periodof time from after when the self-driving vehicle fleet drops off therider to before when the remote computing device 12 is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system; and/orprompting, by the vehicle management system, the first self-drivingvehicle 2 a to pick up the rider at a first pick-up time selected by thevehicle management system at least partially based on the first GPSlocation data (e.g., location 51 u).

Having a vehicle trying to pick up a rider is an expense for thetransportation service provider. The cost (e.g., in dollars) of thisexpense could be passed onto the rider. For example, if a vehicle 2 aspends an hour trying to pick up the rider due to the rider's remotecomputing device 12 not communicating with the vehicle managementsystem, then the vehicle management system could charge an account ofthe rider an amount (e.g., $50) even though the rider did not request aride. While the emergency rendezvous mode is convenient if the rideractually needs a ride, some riders will not want to pay for thisconvenience. As a result, in some embodiments, the rider can opt intoand/or opt out of eligibility for the emergency rendezvous mode.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management systemfrom the remote computing device 12, an indication that the rider hasrequested for the self-driving vehicle fleet to pick up the rider at asecond area within 500 feet of the drop-off location 50 in response tothe remote computing device 12 being unable to communicate with thevehicle management system. In some embodiments, this indication could bethe result of the rider selecting a button in an “app” to enable hereligibility for the emergency rendezvous mode. Some embodiments comprisedriving, by the vehicle management system, the first self-drivingvehicle 2 a to the first area 67 in response to the receiving theindication and in response to determining that the remote computingdevice 12 is no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle managementsystem.

In some embodiments, an administrative service such as Apple Inc.,T-Mobile USA Inc., and AT&T Inc. notifies the vehicle management systemthat the remote computing device 12 is not communicating, iscommunicatively uncoupled, is turned off, has a dead battery, isnon-responsive, etc., which enables the vehicle management system toenter an emergency rendezvous mode in which the vehicle managementsystem is configured to predict an appropriate pick-up location for therider. The pick-up location can be a pick-up location previouslyselected by the rider (e.g., via an “app” on the rider's remotecomputing device 12). The pick-up location can be the drop-off location50 (which can be helpful if the rider did not previously select apick-up location).

The administrative service can be a telecommunications service provider.The administrative service can be an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”).An Internet Service Provider provides services for accessing theInternet.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system(e.g., from an administrative service), a notification that the remotecomputing device 12 is not currently able to send communications and/oris not currently able to receive communications. Some embodimentscomprise prompting, by the vehicle management system, the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to a first area within a predetermineddistance of the drop-off location 50 to pick up the rider in response toreceiving the notification.

Some embodiments comprise using a vehicle management system having aself-driving vehicle fleet. The fleet can comprise at least one of afirst self-driving vehicle 2 a and a second self-driving vehicle 2 b.Embodiments can comprise coupling communicatively the vehicle managementsystem to a remote computing device 12 of a rider. The remote computingdevice 12 can be configured to operate software configured to enable therider to select a first pick-up location. The self-driving vehicle fleetcan drop-off the rider at a drop-off location 50.

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system, afirst indication that the remote computing device 12 is communicativelydisabled; and prompting, by the vehicle management system, the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to a first area within a predetermineddistance of the drop-off location 50 to pick up the rider in response toreceiving the first indication. In some embodiments, the predetermineddistance is 250 feet. Some embodiments comprise picking up, by the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a, the rider in the first area in response to theprompting.

The first indication can be a communication and/or data from anadministrative service that informs the vehicle management system theremote computing device 12 is communicatively disabled. The vehiclemanagement system can receive the indication in response to asking theadministrative service regarding the status of the remote computingdevice 12. In some embodiments, the vehicle management systemperiodically “asks” (e.g., via software that generates a communicationthat requests information) the administrative service regarding thestatus of the remote computing device 12 (e.g., to determine if theremote computing device 12 is “on” and/or able to communicate).

As used herein, “communicatively disabled” means that the remotecomputing device 12 is at least one of turned “off”, has a “dead”battery, is unable to send wireless communications, is unable to receivewireless communications, and has suspended radio-frequency transmissions(e.g., to disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and telephone communications).

As used herein, “communicatively enabled” means that the remotecomputing device 12 is at least one able to send wirelesscommunications, able to receive wireless communications, and has enabledradio-frequency transmissions (e.g., to enable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, andtelephone communications).

After receiving the first indication and prompting the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to the first area, some embodimentscomprise receiving, by the vehicle management system, a secondindication that the remote computing device 12 is communicativelyenabled; and in response to receiving the second indication that theremote computing device 12 is communicatively enabled, prompting, by thevehicle management system, the first self-driving vehicle 2 a to moveaway from the first area (without picking up the rider).

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system,first location data indicative of the first pick-up location. The firstlocation data can be GPS coordinates, a street address, or any othertype of data that indicates a location. For example, GPS coordinates canindicate a pick-up location (and can enable the vehicle 2 a to use theGPS coordinates to drive to the pick-up location).

Some embodiments comprise receiving, by the vehicle management system, afirst indication that the remote computing device 12 is communicativelydisabled; prompting, by the vehicle management system, the firstself-driving vehicle 2 a to drive to a first area within a predetermineddistance of the first pick-up location in response to receiving thefirst indication that the remote computing device 12 is communicativelydisabled; and/or picking up, by the first self-driving vehicle 2 a, therider in the first area in response to the prompting.

Interpretation

The self-driving vehicle can be any suitable vehicle. For example, theself-driving vehicle 2 can be a Tesla Model S made by Tesla, Inc. TheTesla Model S can include the Enhanced Autopilot package and the FullSelf-Driving Capability package. The Full Self-Driving Capabilitypackage includes eight active cameras to enable full self-driving inalmost all circumstances.

The self-driving vehicle 2 can also be a Waymo car. Waymo was formerlythe Google self-driving car project. Waymo, which is owned by AlphabetInc., has logged thousands of self-driving miles over many years. Waymovehicles have sensors and software that are designed to detectpedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, roadwork and more from a distance of upto two football fields away in all directions. Waymo has stated that itssoftware leverages over four million miles of real world driving data.In some embodiments, self-driving vehicles sometimes drive themselves,sometimes are driven remotely by a computing system, and sometimes aredriven manually by a human turning a steering wheel, operating pedals,and performing other driver functions. In several embodiments, aself-driving vehicle drives without a human inside the vehicle to pickup the human and then lets the human drive the vehicle. Although in somecases, the human may choose not to drive the vehicle and instead mayallow the vehicle to drive (e.g., steer and control speed) itself (e.g.,in response to a destination requested by the human).

The remote computing device 12 can be a smartphone, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, a server, augmented realityglasses, an implanted computer, and/or any type of computer that islocated remotely relative to the vehicle. In some embodiments, theremote computing device 12 is an iPhone made by Apple Inc. or an Androidphone based on software made by Alphabet Inc. The remote computingdevice 12 can comprise a speaker configured to emit sounds, a microphoneconfigured to record sounds, and a display screen configured to displayimages. The remote computing device 12 can comprise a battery configuredto provide electrical power to operate the remote computing device 12.

In some embodiments, portions of the vehicle management system 65 can bephysically coupled to the self-driving vehicle 2 while other others ofthe vehicle management system 65 are not physically coupled to thevehicle 2 and are located remotely relative to the vehicle 2.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the vehicle management system65 is located in the vehicle 2. In several embodiments, at least aportion of the vehicle management system 65 is located remotely relativeto the vehicle 2. The vehicle management system 65 can comprise manyservers, computers, and vehicles. The vehicle management system 65 cancomprise cloud computing and cloud storage.

In several embodiments, the entire vehicle management system 65 islocated in the self-driving vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 can comprise thevehicle management system 65. In some embodiments, a first portion ofthe vehicle management system 65 is physically coupled to the vehicle 2,and a second portion of the vehicle management system 65 is notphysically coupled to the vehicle 2. The second portion can be locatedremotely relative to the vehicle 2. In several embodiments, the entirevehicle management system 65 is located remotely relative to the vehicle2.

The phrase “communicatively coupling” can include any type of directand/or indirect coupling between the self-driving vehicle 2, remotecomputing device 12, and vehicle management system 65. For example, theremote computing device 12 can be communicatively coupled to the vehiclemanagement system 65 via servers, Wi-Fi networks, cellular networks, andother communication systems.

In some embodiments, one or more of the pick-up location 120, parkinglocation 134, drop-off location 140, most recent drop-off location 166,pre-determined drop-off location 192, first pick-up location 220, and/orthe pick-up location 320 are in the same location. In some embodiments,one or more of the pick-up location 120, parking location 134, drop-offlocation 140, most recent drop-off location 166, pre-determined drop-offlocation 192, first pick-up location 220, and/or the pick-up location320 are in different locations.

Some of the devices, systems, embodiments, and processes use computers.Each of the routines, processes, methods, and algorithms described inthe preceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partiallyautomated by, code modules executed by one or more computers, computerprocessors, or machines configured to execute computer instructions. Thecode modules may be stored on any type of non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium or tangible computer storage device,such as hard drives, solid state memory, flash memory, optical disc,and/or the like. The processes and algorithms may be implementedpartially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. The results ofthe disclosed processes and process steps may be stored, persistently orotherwise, in any type of non-transitory computer storage such as, e.g.,volatile or non-volatile storage.

The term “app”, as used in this disclosure, can includes native apps andmobile cloud apps (and Web apps). Native apps are installed directly onremote computing devices, whereby developers create separate appversions for each type of remote computing device (e.g., iPhone devicesand Android devices). Native apps may be stored on the remote computingdevice out of the box, or the native apps can be downloaded from apublic or private app store and installed on the remote computingdevice. Self-driving vehicle data associated with native apps can alsostored on the remote computing device, although data can be storedremotely and accessed by the native app. Depending on the nature of thenative app, Internet connectivity may not be required.

Mobile cloud apps are very similar to Web-based apps. The mainsimilarity is that both mobile cloud apps and Web apps run on serversexternal to the remote computing device and may require the use of abrowser on the remote computing device to display and then use the appuser interface (UI). Mobile cloud apps can be native apps rebuilt to runin the mobile cloud; custom apps developed for mobile devices; orthird-party apps downloaded to the cloud from external sources. Someorganizations offer both a native and mobile cloud versions of theirapplications. In short, the term “app” includes native apps, mobilecloud apps, and other application software.

None of the steps described herein is essential or indispensable. Any ofthe steps can be adjusted or modified. Other or additional steps can beused. Any portion of any of the steps, processes, structures, and/ordevices disclosed or illustrated in one embodiment, flowchart, orexample in this specification can be combined or used with or instead ofany other portion of any of the steps, processes, structures, and/ordevices disclosed or illustrated in a different embodiment, flowchart,or example. The embodiments and examples provided herein are notintended to be discrete and separate from each other.

The section headings and subheadings provided herein are nonlimiting.The section headings and subheadings do not represent or limit the fullscope of the embodiments described in the sections to which the headingsand subheadings pertain. For example, a section titled “Topic 1” mayinclude embodiments that do not pertain to Topic 1 and embodimentsdescribed in other sections may apply to and be combined withembodiments described within the “Topic 1” section.

Some of the devices, systems, embodiments, and processes use computers.Each of the routines, processes, methods, and algorithms described inthe preceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partiallyautomated by, code modules executed by one or more computers, computerprocessors, or machines configured to execute computer instructions. Thecode modules may be stored on any type of non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium or tangible computer storage device,such as hard drives, solid state memory, flash memory, optical disc,and/or the like. The processes and algorithms may be implementedpartially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. The results ofthe disclosed processes and process steps may be stored, persistently orotherwise, in any type of non-transitory computer storage such as, e.g.,volatile or non-volatile storage.

The various features and processes described above may be usedindependently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. Allpossible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall withinthe scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method, event, state,or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods,steps, and processes described herein are also not limited to anyparticular sequence, and the blocks, steps, or states relating theretocan be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example,described tasks or events may be performed in an order other than theorder specifically disclosed. Multiple steps may be combined in a singleblock or state. The example tasks or events may be performed in serial,in parallel, or in some other manner. Tasks or events may be added to orremoved from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems andcomponents described herein may be configured differently thandescribed. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, orrearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,”“might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are usedinclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additionalelements, features, acts, operations and so forth. Also, the term “or”is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so thatwhen used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or”means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. Conjunctivelanguage such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unlessspecifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the contextas used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X,Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended toimply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least oneof Y, and at least one of Z to each be present.

The term “and/or” means that “and” applies to some embodiments and “or”applies to some embodiments. Thus, A, B, and/or C can be replaced withA, B, and C written in one sentence and A, B, or C written in anothersentence. A, B, and/or C means that some embodiments can include A andB, some embodiments can include A and C, some embodiments can include Band C, some embodiments can only include A, some embodiments can includeonly B, some embodiments can include only C, and some embodiments caninclude A, B, and C. The term “and/or” is used to avoid unnecessaryredundancy.

While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodimentshave been presented by way of example only, and are not intended tolimit the scope of the inventions disclosed herein. Thus, nothing in theforegoing description is intended to imply that any particular feature,characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable.Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodiedin a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions,substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systemsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions disclosed herein.

The following is claimed:
 1. A method of using a vehicle managementsystem comprising a self-driving vehicle fleet including a plurality ofself-driving vehicles, the method comprising: communicatively couplingthe vehicle management system to a remote computing device, wherein theremote computing device is configured to operate software adapted toenable a selection of a first pick-up location; and directing, via thevehicle management system, a first self-driving vehicle from theself-driving vehicle fleet, to drop-off a rider at a drop-off location.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the first self-driving vehicle to go to apredetermined pick-up location of the rider in response to determining,by the vehicle management system, that the remote computing device is nolonger communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the vehiclemanagement system, that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system; and prompting,by the vehicle management system, the first self-driving vehicle todrive to a first area within 250 feet of the drop-off location to pickup the rider in response to determining that the remote computing deviceis no longer communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system.4. The method of claim 3, further comprising picking up, by the firstself-driving vehicle, the rider in the first area in response to theprompting.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining, bythe vehicle management system, that the remote computing device is nolonger communicatively coupled to the vehicle management system bysending a first wireless communication to the remote computing deviceand later determining that the remote computing device did not respondto the first wireless communication.
 6. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising determining, by the vehicle management system, that theremote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system in response to determining that the vehiclemanagement system has not received a first wireless communication fromthe remote computing device for a predetermined amount of time.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the predetermined amount of time is greaterthan thirty seconds and less than sixty minutes.
 8. The method of claim3, further comprising determining, by the vehicle management system,that the remote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled tothe vehicle management system by determining that a battery of theremote computing device is depleted.
 9. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising after the prompting: determining, by the vehicle managementsystem, that the rider is not located in the first area within 250 feetof the drop-off location; instructing, by the vehicle management system,the first self-driving vehicle to move away from the first area inresponse to determining that the rider is not located in the first area;and instructing at least a first portion of the self-driving vehiclefleet to return to the first area after a first period of time toattempt to pick up the rider.
 10. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: determining, by the vehicle management system, that therider is not located in the first area within 250 feet of the drop-offlocation after the first period of time; instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, the first portion of the self-driving vehicle fleetto move away from the first area; and instructing, by the vehiclemanagement system, at least a second portion of the self-driving vehiclefleet to return to the first area after a second period of time that isgreater than the first period of time to attempt to pick up the rider.11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining, by thevehicle management system, that the rider is not located in the firstarea within 250 feet of the drop-off location after the second period oftime; instructing, by the vehicle management system, at least the secondportion of the self-driving vehicle fleet to move away from the firstarea; and instructing, by the vehicle management system, at least athird portion of the self-driving vehicle fleet to return to the firstarea after a third period of time that is greater than the second periodof time to attempt to pick up the rider.
 12. The method of claim 3,further comprising after prompting the first self-driving vehicle todrive to the first area: determining, by the first self-driving vehicle,that the rider is not located in the first area within 250 feet of thedrop-off location; and in response to determining that the rider is notlocated in the first area, prompting, by the vehicle management system,the first self-driving vehicle to move to a parking location that islocated outside of the first area.
 13. The method of claim 3, whereinthe vehicle management system comprises an image analysis system havingprogram instructions configured to analyze images, and the firstself-driving vehicle comprises a camera configured to take the images ofplaces located outside the first self-driving vehicle, the methodfurther comprising, after the prompting: taking a picture, by the cameraof the first self-driving vehicle, of at least a portion of the firstarea; determining, by the vehicle management system, that the rider isnot located in the first area by using the image analysis system toanalyze the picture; and instructing, by the vehicle management system,the first self-driving vehicle to move away from the first area inresponse to determining that the rider is not located in the first area.14. The method of claim 3, further comprising after determining that theremote computing device is no longer communicatively coupled to thevehicle management system and prompting the first self-driving vehicleto drive to the first area: determining, by the vehicle managementsystem, that communicative coupling between the vehicle managementsystem and the remote computing device has been restored; and inresponse to determining that the communicative coupling has beenrestored, prompting, by the vehicle management system, the firstself-driving vehicle to move away from the first area.
 15. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising sending a second wireless communication fromthe vehicle management system to the remote computing device in responseto determining that the remote computing device is no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system, wherein thesecond wireless communication is configured to elicit a reply wirelesscommunication from the remote computing device to the vehicle managementsystem after the remote computing device regains wireless communicationabilities, and later prompting, by the vehicle management system, thefirst self-driving vehicle to move away from the first area in responseto receiving, by the vehicle management system, the reply wirelesscommunication.
 16. The method of claim 3, wherein the vehicle managementsystem comprises a memory having data regarding lengths of time betweenpast drop-off times and past pick-up times associated with at least aportion of a second area within one mile of the drop-off location, themethod further comprising selecting, by the vehicle management system atleast partially based on the data regarding the lengths of time, a firstpick-up time, and later prompting, by the vehicle management system, thefirst self-driving vehicle to pick up the rider at the first pick-uptime.
 17. The method of claim 3, wherein the vehicle management systemcomprises a memory having data regarding lengths of time between pastdrop-off times of the rider and past pick-up times of the rider, themethod further comprising selecting, by the vehicle management system atleast partially based on the data regarding the lengths of time, a firstpick-up time, and later prompting, by the vehicle management system, thefirst self-driving vehicle to pick up the rider at the first pick-uptime.
 18. The method of claim 3, wherein the vehicle management systemcomprises a memory having data regarding lengths of time between pastdrop-off times of the rider and past pick-up times of the riderassociated with at least a portion of a second area within 500 feet ofthe drop-off location, the method further comprising selecting, by thevehicle management system at least partially based on the data regardingthe lengths of time, a first pick-up time, and later prompting, by thevehicle management system, the first self-driving vehicle to pick up therider at the first pick-up time.
 19. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising: receiving, by the vehicle management system, a first GPSlocation data indicative of at least one location of the remotecomputing device of the rider during a period of time after a vehiclefrom the self-driving vehicle fleet drops off the rider to the drop-offlocation and before when the remote computing device becomes no longercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle management system; and prompting,by the vehicle management system, the first self-driving vehicle to pickup the rider at a first pick-up time selected by the vehicle managementsystem at least partially based on the first GPS location data.
 20. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising: receiving, by the vehiclemanagement system from the remote computing device, an indication thatthe rider has requested for the self-driving vehicle fleet to pick upthe rider at a second area within 500 feet of the drop-off location inresponse to the remote computing device being unable to communicate withthe vehicle management system; and driving, by the vehicle managementsystem, the first self-driving vehicle to the first area in response tothe receiving and in response to the determining.
 21. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the vehicle managementsystem, a first indication that the remote computing device iscommunicatively disabled; and prompting, by the vehicle managementsystem, the first self-driving vehicle to drive to a first area within apredetermined distance of the drop-off location to pick up the rider inresponse to receiving the first indication.
 22. The method of claim 21,wherein the predetermined distance is 250 feet.
 23. The method of claim21, further comprising picking up, by the first self-driving vehicle,the rider in the first area in response to the prompting.
 24. The methodof claim 21, after receiving the first indication and prompting thefirst self-driving vehicle to drive to the first area, the methodfurther comprising: receiving, by the vehicle management system, asecond indication that the remote computing device is communicativelyenabled; and in response to receiving the second indication that theremote computing device is communicatively enabled, prompting, by thevehicle management system, the first self-driving vehicle to move awayfrom the first area.
 25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, by the vehicle management system, first location dataindicative of the first pick- up location; receiving, by the vehiclemanagement system, a first indication that the remote computing deviceis communicatively disabled; prompting, by the vehicle managementsystem, the first self-driving vehicle to drive to a first area within apredetermined distance of the first pick-up location in response toreceiving the first indication that the remote computing device iscommunicatively disabled; and picking up, by the first self-drivingvehicle, the rider in the first area in response to the prompting.